NASCAR Cup Series: Kurt Busch wins thrilling 2019 Quaker State 400

Following an intense battle with brother Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch secured his first victory of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season in thrilling fashion.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch held off brother Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing to secure his first victory of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season and of his tenure at Chip Ganassi Racing by winning the 36-race season’s 19th race at Kentucky Speedway, the Quaker State 400, in thrilling fashion.

Kurt Busch started this 269-lap race, which was scheduled to be a 267-lap race but went into overtime as a result of a late caution flag period, around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kentucky Speedway oval in Sparta, Kentucky in fourth place in his #1 Chevrolet.

He won it by 0.076 seconds over his brother in his #18 Toyota following an intense battle that featured a lot of bumping and banging after the overtime restart with just two laps remaining.

Here is a video of this epic finish.

This is the second 1-2 finish for the Busch brothers of the season, as Kyle beat Kurt following an intense late battle in the race at Bristol Motor Speedway in early April.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano led the field to the green flag on this restart ahead of Kyle Busch in second place after passing him and pulling away from him prior to the race’s final caution flag period, but he ended up having a poor restart that led to a disappointing seventh place finish in his #22 Ford.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones finished in a season-high third place in his #20 Toyota and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson finished in fourth in his #42 Chevrolet. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin finished in fifth in his #11 Toyota, giving Joe Gibbs Racing three of the top five positions after he overcame a pit road penalty.

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Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer was the highest finishing Ford driver of the race. He finished in sixth place in his #14 Ford. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who started the race from the pole position, overcame an early bad strategy call, a flat tire and a pit road speeding penalty to finish in eighth in his #41 Ford.

Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Newman and JTG Daugherty Racing’s Chris Buescher rounded out the top 10 by finishing in ninth and 10th place in their #6 Ford and #37 Chevrolet, respectively.

The race featured a total of 15 lead changes among 10 drivers. Aside of Kurt Busch, who led 41 laps, nine other drivers led at least one lap of the race. These drivers were Kyle Busch, who led more laps than anybody else in the field with 72 laps led, Jones, Hamlin, Bowyer, Logano, Suarez, Newman, Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski. Kurt Busch won stage one and Kyle Busch won stage two.

The race also featured a total of seven caution flag periods, including five that took place as a result of on-track incidents and two that took place as a result of the usual endings of stages one and two. Of the 36 drivers who started the race, only Rick Ware Racing’s B.J. McLeod failed to finish it. Of the 35 drivers who finished the race, 16 finished on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2019 Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

Race Results
1st – Kurt Busch
2nd – Kyle Busch
3rd – Erik Jones
4th – Kyle Larson
5th – Denny Hamlin
6th – Clint Bowyer
7th – Joey Logano
8th – Daniel Suarez
9th – Ryan Newman
10th – Chris Buescher
11th – Paul Menard
12th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
13th – Ryan Blaney
14th – Aric Almirola
15th – Chase Elliott
16th – Matt DiBenedetto
17th – Alex Bowman
18th – William Byron
19th – Martin Truex Jr.
20th – Brad Keselowski
21st – Ryan Preece
22nd – Kevin Harvick
23rd – Darrell Wallace Jr.
24th – Daniel Hemric
25th – Michael McDowell
26th – Ty Dillon
27th – Matt Tifft
28th – Corey LaJoie
29th – David Ragan
30th – Jimmie Johnson
31st – Ross Chastain
32nd – Landon Cassill
33rd – Bayley Currey
34th – Quin Houff
35th – Austin Dillon
36th – B.J. McLeod

New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire is scheduled to host the next race on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. This race, the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 21, and it is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.