The Quaker State 400 came down to a battle between the Busch brothers. It was older brother Kurt emerging victorious over Kyle at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The race started with Chase Elliott on the pole with Kyle Busch next to him on the front row. Kyle was able to take the lead from Chase on lap 14. Kyle would go on to win Stage 1 of the race. Kurt Busch was able to work forward to finish in second place in the first stage.

Kurt was able to get the lead from his brother during the pit stops following the end of the first stage. While there was a threat of rain during the second stage, that rain never fully developed. That mixed up the order a little during the stage as a few cars remained on track hoping for a rain-shortened race. When that did not happen, Kurt was able to race back to the lead for a win of Stage 2.

During the final stage of the race Kyle Busch pitted a lap earlier to get the advantage of fresh tires over his brother. It worked as when the green flag pit cycle was complete Kyle had the lead over Kurt.

However, as the laps clicked off Kurt raced down Kyle. With a little assistance from his teammate in the #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, Kurt was able to get past Kyle for the lead with 23 laps remaining in the race. Kurt was able to hold off Kyle for those final laps in the race to claim his first win of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. It is his fourth win at Atlanta Motor Speedway. More importantly the win locks him in the post-season.

Kyle Busch claimed the runner-up finish. Martin Truex Jr. was able to finish third after having to start the race from the back of the field. Alex Bowman took home a fourth-place finish and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five. See the complete race results for the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway here.

Following the Atlanta race, Denny Hamlin holds on as the point leader for another week. Kyle Larson remains in second place. Kyle Busch moves up to third place pushing William Byron back to fourth place. Chase Elliott moves up to fifth place in the point standings. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.

There are now four spots open for the Playoffs and five races remaining in the regular season. That will continue to increase the pressure on the drivers that have not clinched a spot in the post-season yet. The next chance comes Sunday, July 18th in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on the “Magic Mile” of New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

By: Buck Stevens