The Busch brothers are in the top positions at Texas Motor Speedway for the controversially sponsored NRA 500 on Saturday, as Kyle won the pole over Kurt to take the number one position for the Sprint Cup event, putting the two siblings one and two for the first time since 2009 in Las Vegas.
Kyle Busch won the last time the two brothers pulled that off and he hopes to do it again Saturday for what would be his second win of the year. Jimmie Johnson is the only driver currently on the circuit with two wins to his name and he also has a pole from last week at Martinsville. Danica Patrick will be looking to move up in the standings, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be looking for his first win of the year after some strong top five performances.
Patrick rebounded with a solid performance at Martinsville and finished 12th and she will be looking to improve at Texas on Saturday night. Patrick started off the NASCAR season with a bang and a landmark pole win at Daytona and she also led laps in the 500, making her the first woman in the history of the Sprint Cup to do so.
She struggled over the next few weeks, including at Phoenix International Raceway, which saw Carl Edwards win after Mark Martin became one of the oldest drivers to win a pole at a Sprint Cup event. The next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the pole qualifying was rained out and the pole was taken by defending Sprint Cup champ Brad Keselowski, while Matt Kenseth took the checkered flag on Sunday.
Kasey Kahne had a strong performance at Bristol Motor Speedway after Kyle Busch won the pole, but he was able to get his own win the next week after Denny Hamlin took the pole, as Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at California at the Auto Club Speedway. After a holiday week off, the Sprint Cup Series came to Martinsville, where Jimmie Johnson became the first driver this year to win the pole and the race on the same weekend. Johnson has been excellent all year and won the Daytona 500 in February to start the season.
Busch was able to set the top record for the Texas track with his speed in qualifying and he will be looking to make it two weeks in a row that the pole winner has taken the checkered flag as well. Johnson will be starting seventh in the line, while Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose will be behind the Busch brothers in the third and fourth positions.
