Kurt Busch led 40 laps Sunday, but his brother Kyle beat him to the finish line. Credit: Autostock

Busch siblings put on a show in hometown

Rookie Kyle finishes second, while defending Cup champ is third

LAS VEGAS -- If you're going to show off, do it in your hometown. That's exactly what Kyle Busch did.

The recent trend in the Nextel Cup Series is to give a fearless young driver a well-prepared car and expect to run up front. Still, no one expected Kyle Busch to challenge for a win this early, especially at a difficult downforce track.

Johnson on his first career Las Vegas win Johnson cruises to his first victory of 2005 Kyle and Kurt Busch crack the top three Gordon finishes fourth despite an altercation Kahne's day takes a turn for the worse Junior and Brian Vickers collide in the early laps Dale Jr. apologizes to Vickers after the wreck Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

In fact, both Busch brothers put on a show in their native Las Vegas on Sunday, as each scored top-fives in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.

Kyle Busch was second in just his ninth career Nextel Cup start.

"He is really coming together quicker than I thought," said Kurt Busch, who led 40 laps and finished third. "He was pretty stout and I am pretty proud of him. He competed with the best of the best. He did it in Vegas, of all places."

Kyle Busch didn't lead a lap, but he made teammate Jimmie Johnson nervous in the closing laps, at one point closing the gap to under a second.

Johnson was too strong, but Kyle Busch was not complaining, especially after beating his brother.

The younger Busch was a 60-1 longshot heading into the event, but his car handled better and better with each passing pit stop.

"We struggled all day with a tight car in the center," he said. "We tried chasing the 48, but couldn't get it done. But we ended the Roush domination."

After the race, Kurt Busch was the first to congratulate Kyle. The elder brother -- seven years older than Kyle -- finished a distant third, more than six seconds behind Johnson.

Kurt Busch probably would have been able to race with Johnson for the win -- he led 40 laps -- but a bad pit stop on Lap 194 ended his chances.

"After the problem we had, I thought we were buried," Kurt Busch said. "It's very tough to come back to the front."

ALSO •   Race Results •   Cup Standings

Still, it was Kurt Busch's first top-five run at Las Vegas in five tries. Kurt badly wants to win at Las Vegas, and Sunday's result still stung.

"I really felt like we were really in contention," Kurt Busch said. "I understand you have to run for a championship, but when we come to Vegas, it feels like the Daytona 500."