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Kurt Busch Reveals How He Helped Kyle Busch Through Tough 2020 NASCAR Season: “Our Relationship Has Gotten Closer”

Published 05/09/2021, 8:15 AM EDT

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Over the years, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch have matured as drivers at the highest level of NASCAR. The brothers were also at the heart of one of the best moments from the NASCAR world last week as Kurt surprised Kyle at the airport with a mariachi band after the latter won the Kansas Cup race on his birthday.

While they have matured over the years as drivers, their relationship has also matured significantly, according to Kurt. The 2003 Cup Series champion, and his younger brother Kyle, a two-time Cup champion, have been competitors on the race track for a long time now.

However, Kurt says that they still help each other with racing information and their own learnings from races, the best they can, and he believes that this has taken their relationship to ‘another level.’

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“I think that we’ve gone to another level of a relationship that challenges one another with race car information and keep that to our specific teams. But to also talk about tracks in a much larger detail on bumps or trends,” Kurt said during a recent media interaction.

How Kurt encouraged brother Kyle Busch through tough times

The 2020 season was quite difficult for Kyle. Coming off his second title in 2019, the Joe Gibbs driver had not won a single race until very late in the season. And while Kyle was struggling mentally and couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t winning, Kurt stepped up and played the role of the big brother.

He reminded his younger brother that the absence of practice and qualifying changed the scenario to a large extent. Despite Kyle being the more accomplished of the two drivers, Kurt felt it was important to give him a new perspective.

I’m like, ‘Kyle, everything is different now with no practice. You’ve got to break these races down a little bit different,'” Kurt said further.

“So I was feeling like the older brother trying to throw some wisdom at him even though he’s the most winningest driver in NASCAR,” he expressed.

Kurt is playing the big brother’s role to perfection

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The Chip Ganassi Racing star reminded his brother of something their father, Tom, taught them – “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, it’s what’s right now.”

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The 42-year-old Kurt is happy with the growth of his relationship with his sibling.

“I think our relationship, through this COVID process, has gotten even closer because we’re flying together and spending more time together…I’m very thankful that everything is working the way it is now,” Kyle expressed.

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The mariachi band celebration at the airport showed the great camaraderie between the two brothers. While Kyle secured his place in the playoffs last week with the win, it is now Kurt’s time to do so after early struggles this season.

WATCH: Kurt Busch’s Awesome Surprise for Brother Kyle Busch After Kansas NASCAR Cup Win on His Birthday

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Written by:

Aayush Majumdar

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Aayush Majumdar is a NASCAR content strategist, a Tennis Writer, and a sports analyst at EssentiallySports. He is well-tenured as a tennis and NASCAR writer, with over 900 articles across both sports. After pursuing a Post Graduate program in Sports Management, Aayush explored various roles in Sports Media, including a Sports Reporting role at a leading English daily.
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