Busch Brothers: Irony at Las Vegas

Kurt and Kyle Busch are natives of Las Vegas, but the natives are restless.

Kurt blasted through the track record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to nail the pole at 188.719 mph.

Kyle qualified fifth at 188.153 mph putting him in position to make an early hard charge at brother Kurt when the green flag drops.

The defending champion for this race is Kyle Busch who won under the guidance of crew chief Steve Addington.

Kurt Busch took the pole with the quick No. 2 Penske Dodge under the guidance of crew chief Steve Addington.

Ironically this crew chief was relieved of his duties at Joe Gibbs Racing late last season and now he may be taking Kurt to the Chase in 2010.  Kyle missed the Chase in 2009 by a mere 8 points.

Kurt stated the combination of what he likes with the car along with Addington's notes from Kyle's winning run at this track last year should enable him to have a strong run.

Kyle Busch is stuck in position 14 for finishes in both Daytona and Fontana.  He must be feeling great frustration seeing Joey Logano take the lead at JGR so far as performance.

Kyle is so much more talented than his stats reflect.  His inability to make the Chase in 2009 along with numerous second place finishes in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series only made him more disgruntled.  To him, anything but a win is a loss with no middle ground.

Kurt and Kyle are both fiercely competitive with very different driving styles.  Kurt is smooth and more stealth-like while Kyle is daring and exciting to watch.

Kurt is in a good place with his Penske Dodge and full of optimism for a promising season along with crew chief Addington.

Kyle is in an unknown zone with Dave Rogers, the crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota.  The chemistry between the two could be explosive should performance not improve.

Kyle is quick to lose his cool and criticize the setup on the car.  Perhaps he needs to reassess his leadership role as driver in order to motivate his team and make them more cohesive.

The maturity and coolness brother Kurt is able to exhibit would go far should it rub off on Kyle.  At present there seems to be some exposed nerves on Team 18 and all is not well.

The irony will be evident as the two Busch brothers roll the dice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Which brother will be smiling at the end of the race and will it be from the winner's circle?