Kurt, left, was on hand to congratulate Kyle on his first Cup pole at Fontana. Credit: Gavin Lawrence/Getty Images

Cross' Words: Loudon

Sibling rivalries have provided great theatre for the masses: Cain and Abel, Frasier and Niles, American Flyers (what, you haven't seen this movie?).

Within the next few years, NASCAR may boast of brothers who could rival the greats -- the Allisons, Bodines, Flocks, Labontes.

Inside the Numbers Busch brothers through their first 25 Cup starts   Kurt Kyle Top 5s 2 5 Top 10s 6 7 Top 15s 10 9 40th+ 3x 4x Avg. finish 23.4 23.1 First pole 32nd race 8th race First win 48th race -- First top-10 11th race 9th race Note: Both finished on the lead lap for the first time in their third race: Kurt was 13th at Charlotte on Oct. 8, 2000; Kyle was 24th at Fontana on Sept. 5, 2004

Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch are poised to make sustained runs at the Nextel Cup championships for the next 10 years. Kurt, the defending series champion, is a solid favorite each week; Kyle, the to-be-crowned rookie of the year, is right on his coattails.

"Congratulations to my little brother, and it officially stops now -- the advice to Kyle -- because he beat me," Kurt said March 14 at their home track in Las Vegas as Kyle finished second and Kurt third.

On Sunday at Loudon, Kurt was second, and his 10th top-10 vaulted him to fifth in points. Meanwhile, Kyle posted his seventh top-10 finish, finishing fourth. He is 19th in points and no threat to make the Chase for the Cup, but you can hear him coming.

In 2000, Kurt was runner-up for the Truck Series title, and a move to stock cars was the plan. He started his Cup career with seven races that year before taking over the No. 97 in 2001. A year later, he won four times and finished third in points.

In 2000, Kyle was a sophomore in high school. The next year, he started his first NASCAR race, the Truck Series' Power Stroke Diesel 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. After finishing eighth in the 2002 ASA standings, Kyle had seven Busch Series starts in '03 before running a full season last year and earning rookie of the year honors.

In a time when NASCAR is looking to expand its fan base, Busch and "Shrub" will be on the leading edge of the sport's growth. With all the sponsorship obligations, testing and racing, it will be interesting to see how these two handle their relationship -- especially with each driving for high-profile owners, Kurt with Jack Roush and Kyle for Rick Hendrick.

NEW HAMPSHIRE 300 •   Results •   Standings •   Lap-by-Lap Victory LaneTony Stewart celebrates his third win of the season Early yellowsJamie McMurray, Kurt Busch get spun to bring out cautions N.H. 300Catch all the highlights as the Race to the Chase continues Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE COKE TRACK ACCESS Interactive race highlights and instant win game

"Of course with the history of NASCAR and the groups of legendary brothers that have come out of NASCAR, it's phenomenal to have Kyle out here and to be out there competing against him," Kurt told the Tampa Tribune.

"I believe that you always lean on your older brother," Kyle said. "And I'm sure a sibling rivalry will develop from racing against [Kurt], but yet it will be a friendly one, because we both know and respect one another, and know what it takes to get to this point."

And NASCAR knows a good storyline when it sees one.

Flags

• Red -- Jeff Gordon has nine finishes of 25th or worse through 19 races, including seven in the past nine starts. ... Kinda takes the shine off those three wins in the first nine races. Well, better luck next year.

• Yellow -- Elliott Sadler hasn't posted a top-10 since Sonoma, with an average finish of 32.3 the past three races. Hence, he's dropped from third to ninth in the point standings.

• Green -- Dale Jarrett is proving my theory that top-15 finishes are the wave of the future -- well, as far as making the Chase. DJ has finished outside the top 15 in consecutive races only once this year (Vegas-Atlanta) and is 10th in points.

Quote, Unquote

"It's 30 laps into the race. Usually you let guys go, then. He raced me really hard. My car was quite a bit better. I was just trying to be careful so I didn't get loose up underneath him and wreck him. But as it turned out, maybe I should have."
-- Jamie McMurray, after getting sent into the wall on Lap 27 by Matt Kenseth

Around the Track

• Tony Stewart has five consecutive top-five finishes, including three victories. At the next seven tracks, he has eight wins and an average finish of 13.3.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. has three consecutive top-10s for the first time since he has six in a row between Richmond and Charlotte last fall.

• Matt Kenseth has finished 11th or better -- and climbed from 24th to 16th in the point standings -- in the past five races.

Inside the Numbers Lap leaders at Pocono No. Driver Starts Laps Led 1. J. Gordon 25 841 2. G. Bodine 39 806 3. R. Wallace 43 735 4. D. Waltrip 44 616 5. D. Jarrett 37 521 6. R. Petty 30 500 7. D. Earnhardt 41 455 8. B. Elliott 44 427 9. M. Martin 37 350 10. B. Allison 21 344

Up Next

Pocono Raceway

• Carl Edwards started 29th and won the Pocono 500 in June, the furthest back a race winner has started at the track since it opened in 1974. Pole-sitters have won the race nine times, most recently by Ryan Newman on July 27, 2003.

• There have been five seasons with sweeps at Pocono since the track began hosting twice-a-year races in 1982: Jimmie Johnson (2004), Bobby Labonte (1999), Tim Richmond (1986), Bill Elliott (1985) and Bobby Allison (1982).

• Mark Martin is one of six drivers with starting (7.1) and finishing (10.7) averages of 10th or better, including Coo Coo Marlin (10.0; 7.0), Jimmie Johnson (7.4; 7.6), Brian Vickers (3.7; 9.7), Tim Richmond (9.9; 9.9) and Jeff Gordon 10.4; 10.0).

Mail Call

Terry Labonte, who had been out of the race [at Chicago], came back in the race to scuff tires for the Hendrick teams. I had never heard of anyone doing that but I guess it's legal -- but it sure doesn't seem fair. What do you think?
-- Marilyn McCreery

I think it was a savvy move by a championship organization; there's nothing in the rule book that says teams cannot use a driver to scuff tires for a teammate. And when Labonte was on the track scuffing, he obviously was running fast enough to not get black-flagged, so he wasn't an on-track detriment.

Given the troubles Jeff Gordon has had recently in his car set ups, how far off is my thinking that Robbie Loomis may not be back in the No. 24 pit box next year if Gordon doesn't make the Chase? Being "embarrassed" is not how a driver should feel about his cars' performance.
-- Donnie Graves

We discussed this in last week's Track Smack, and Gordon addressed the media at Loudon: Loomis is secure. No team is immune from bad luck (and Gordon is suffering through a tough slump), but Sunday at Loudon he was a challenger until faulty brakes ended his top-five run.

E-MAIL Got something to say to Duane?

Do you know why NASCAR has not fined Tony Stewart for the cuss word he said in Victory Lane after his victory in Daytona? Don't get me wrong, I like Tony -- but if NASCAR is going to fine one driver and take away points, then they need to be consistent and fine them all.
-- Kimberly G. Wallace

This isn't the first (or last) e-mail received on Stewart's "too damn fat" comment after climbing the fence at Daytona. C'mon, folks, there is a difference between Stewart's word and that which Dale Earnhardt Jr. let slip last year at Talladega. ... Really, there is.

I am not one of those people who think that NASCAR has somehow rigged the sport to help the car with the race sponsor's logo on top of the hood win that particular race. But what I am asking after seeing the No. 17 car do so well in the USG car at a USG-sponsored race and going to the [Coca-Cola] 600 the past three years and watching the No. 48 do so well, is if the sponsor may donate a certain amount of money to the car with the same company for that particular race or is it all just a coincidence?
-- Mark Mayhew

No, dude, you're on to something. It's a boon for these Fortune 500 companies when their sponsored car wins their sponsored race; spend money to make money, you know. And the TV time -- you cannot buy that kind of coverage! ... Seriously, it's a coincidence. Do you think any of these drivers are going to lay down for a competitor's sponsor? No, especially when these guys are trying to keep their own sponsors.

The apparent "lack of good drivers" to replace retiring veterans is partially due to the so-called "Buschwackers". I find it totally unacceptable for drivers like Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards (among others) to be competing against the up-and-comers to the sport. NASCAR should be doing something to dissuade Nextel Cup drivers from driving in so many Busch races.
-- Tanya Tovey

I agree, but with the implementation of "impound" races we're going to see more -- not less -- of Cup drivers moonlighting as Buschwhackers. Looking ahead, imagine how difficult it'll be to tell the Cup Series from the Busch Series when the veterans shuffle off. The "new" Cup drivers still will be earning their Busch stripes, often on the same weekend.

Fantasy Perspective

• Tony Stewart has scored eight top-10 finishes in 12 races at Pocono, but has finished 37th, 27th and 35th in his last three races there.

• Jimmie Johnson has two wins, four top-10s and seven top-15s in seven starts at Pocono, including a sixth-place finish in the June race.

• Elliott Sadler has been running at the finish in 13 races at Pocono, the longest active streak. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Dave Blaney have 11.

Fantasy Racing NASCAR.COM's Duane Cross takes part in a weekly fantasy racing segment on 790 The Ball in High Point, N.C. The season-to-date standings: Player Points This Week ... Show host Marc Amazon 298 10 for Stewart, 9 for Kurt Busch, 4 for Newman, 1 for Kenseth and nada for Johnson NASCAR.COM's Duane Cross 290 9 for Kurt Busch, 4 for Newman, whiffed on Martin, Johnson and Gordon Update anchor Bill Kimm 280 10 for Stewart, 9 for Kurt Busch, 4 for Newman, 2 for Junior, 1 for Kenseth 790 The Ball Listeners 258 9 for Kurt Busch, 6 for Biffle, 1 for Kenseth and blanked on Harvick and Wimmer The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.

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