Busches resolve dust-up

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CONCORD, N.C. — Kurt Busch had a talk with his kid brother after the two crashed into each other during NASCAR’s Nextel All-Star Challenge last weekend

At issue was who was to blame for the accident that took both out of contention for the $1 million prize. They agreed to disagree on that point.

But when it was over, the Las Vegas natives seemed to be in unison that Kyle Busch’s aggressive driving style can sometimes be over the edge.

"The initial discussion was over who was giving and who was taking and who wasn’t," Kurt Busch said Thursday. "Over that discussion I think he got the sense of realization that he has been driving maybe a percentage point or two too high as of late. We’ve all been young drivers before (and) have gone through the, ‘Hey, I’ve got a fast race car, I deserve to win.’

"But yet you can’t count your chickens before they hatch. I think he realized that, and I hope it helps him, wrecking with his brother, that he can mature in a stronger fashion and a quicker fashion. I think he enjoyed the talk that we had."

Any bad blood between the two appeared to be wiped away as the Busch brothers prepared for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Kurt Busch will start second, and Kyle Busch goes from the 17th spot.

It took the brothers four days to speak, as each was too angry to discuss their first on-track altercation.

When they finally touched base in a Wednesday phone call, Kyle Busch recognized he probably expected too much leeway from his brother on Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

The two were racing each other for position late in the $1 million event when Kyle crowded Kurt in an attempt to pass him. Kurt refused to give an inch, and the two cars collided.

Each blamed the other, and even though they played in the same golf tournament on Monday, they were too angry to speak. After hearing Kurt out, Kyle admits Kurt wasn’t obligated to move over for him on the track.

"I figured ‘It’s Kurt. I’m going to get on his inside if I can make it in there, and he’ll give me the room. He’s my brother,’ " Kyle Busch said. "And it just didn’t happen."

But he disagreed with Kurt’s assessment that he’s been too aggressive all season. Kyle Busch has wrecked several cars in both the Busch and Nextel Cup series, but some of the accidents were due to circumstances beyond his control.

"I feel like there’s probably been a couple situations where I maybe was a little too high," he said. "But I feel like there’s other situations where the level I was racing at put me in the right positions at the right time.

"So it can be taken both ways, and hindsight is 20-20. You want to do what’s best for you at that given moment."

It’s a fine racing line that the Busch brothers are on. They drive for different teams in pursuit of the same prize, but in two-plus seasons together in the Nextel Cup series, they had never before wrecked each other.

Jeff Burton, who races weekly against older brother Ward, said it will take time for the Busches to realize that their relationship is more important than collecting trophies.

"Ward and I had a time when we didn’t understand how to race against each other and still have a lot of respect for each other," Burton said. "And there will be a day that it becomes very aware to any brothers that family is more important.

"You just hope that it doesn’t have to get ugly before you realize that."

Opinion was split through the garage about who was at fault in Saturday’s wreck. But most agreed with Kurt Busch’s assessment that the kid he calls "The Shrub" has been a bit overzealous this season.

"Kyle is aggressive, and Kyle tends to err on the aggressive instead of passive, that’s for sure," said Jeff Burton, who has repeatedly praised Kyle Busch for racing him clean.

"His aggressive nature certainly has put him in some positions he might not have been in, and at the same time, that aggressive nature has put him in that car. It’s a catch-22. Experience will teach him when to push that button and when not to push it."

It’s a lecture Kyle Busch has heard often from his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, who think the young driver has made strides since breaking into the Cup series in 2004.

"He’s aggressive, there is no doubt about it, and we all laugh and joke about it," said defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, a Hendrick teammate. "We recognize that and I know his team does, too, and they spend a few hours a week working on his cars because of it. But that’s Kyle’s style, and it’s what got him to where he is today.

"I’ve seen a big level of maturing going on, how engaged he is on the debriefs and talking race cars. I know he’s aggressive, and that’s what makes Kyle Busch who he is. But I think he’s maturing in a lot of ways, too."