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Sometimes in racing, it's better to be lucky than good.

Kyle Busch was both lucky and good in Sunday's 5 Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on his way to the checkered flag. Busch led 96 laps on the way to his third victory in the last four races. The three victories for Busch now places him just 58 points out of top 30 in the Sprint Cup points standings; his final obstacle in gaining Chase eligibility.

Busch believes this may be one of the most special seasons of his career with his success despite trying circumstances.

"This is pretty special," Busch said. "I'm not sure this is something I'm not sure we would've ever expected, (crew chief) Adam (Stevens), myself, (team owner) Joe (Gibbs), the team, anybody, the organization for that matter. But it certainly is nice, it's certainly been a perfect storm if you will. To come back and get back into fast race cars, that's what's meant the most and to just be able to have that opportunity. Thank Joe and J.D. and everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing for that but things are working in our favor right now and we're just doing the right things at the right times and Adam's making some really good adjustments and really good calls.

"Today we may not have been the best car, we were early, but towards the end I'm not sure that we were. But we put ourselves in the right spot to be able to capitalize and sometimes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series you have to be able to do that. Today was one of those opportunities for us."

What could've lead to Busch's demise turned out to be his big break of the race.

Busch made an unscheduled pit stop for what was believed to be a flat tire but in reality put himself on fresher tires than his competition. He was then able to pass the leaders to get back on the lead lap prior to the race's next caution flag. During the lap 252 caution, all the other leaders hit pit road while Busch was able to stay out to grab the lead.

Busch knew the magnitude of passing the leaders during the exchange of strategy.

"The pass for the lead coming out of turn four was real important," Busch explained. "At the time we weren't sure how important it was going to be but it certainly turned out to be the pass for the race. I just knew coming out of turn four that all those guys in front of me were on older tires and kind of slow but I didn't want to waste too much time with them, so I saw the lapped car up on the high side and I knew that Brad (Keselowski) was going to try and box me in behind him and make me wait for another corner or another set of two corners but I just kind of bulldozed my way through there a little bit and kind of moved him out of the way somewhat going down the front stretch, the No. 2. There was just enough of a gap for me to fit between the No. 2 and the No. 4 and when I did that I got on the inside of the No. 4 getting into turn four and cleared them both on that front straightaway.

"Good maneuver, I felt like that was a smart move at that time. I keep saying we have to pick and choose our battles, and that was a battle right there. Obviously we were in a hurry and we needed to do that right things to be on the lead lap for if there were a caution to come out with all the oil that was on the race track."

Busch's crew chief Adam Stevens likes his teams' chances to bring home the Sprint Cup championship if they do get in the Chase.

"I think it's all about how we prepare the cars and execute like I've said," Stevens said. "Even while Kyle was gone, I feel like we've shown that we have speed, and we have solid cars. Maybe since Kyle has come back it's put a little more speed in them and to that point with the Chase format with the eliminations and it all coming down to one race. If we can keep our head on our shoulders and get in first and continue to prepare good cars and execute I think we can (win a championship)."

Former New Hampshire winner Brad Keselowski drove his No. 2 Miller Lite Ford on a furious charge towards Busch in race's waning laps. Keselowski led a race-high 100 laps in the race but was forced to settle for a second place finish.

Kevin Harvick led 59 laps and ended the race with a third place finish while two-time New Hampshire winner Joey Logano settled in fourth place.

Fifth place finisher Dale Earnhardt, Jr, now has the most top-five finishes at New Hampshire amongst driver who haven't scored a win at the track. Earnhardt, Jr, now has 12 top ten finishes on the season.

Despite the top five finish, Earnhardt, Jr, admitted the race caused frustration for his team.

"It was hot out there, but it was fun," Earnhardt, Jr, said. "The car didn't really drive that great.  We tried to get it better during the race.  We had some engine issues.  I saw some stuff with the gauges that were way off.  We were getting beat down the straightaway all day, even by the Hendrick stuff.  Guys will go back and see what's wrong.  I was real tight in the center early in the race.  We could improve on that on the first couple adjustments.  Then it started tightening up real fast towards the last half of the race.  We couldn't keep up with how tight it was getting."

"I was shearing on throttle, real loose on throttle. I felt that, too. Real frustrating to drive. Got to drive hard here. Tough day. A lot of hard work."

Matt Kenseth finished in sixth place followed by the race's pole sitter Carl Edwards in the seventh spot. Austin Dillon brought home an eighth-place finish. Jeff, who has raced in every Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire since it's inaugural race 25 years ago, finished in ninth place with Kurt Busch rounding out the top ten.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 19
Unofficial Race Results for the 23Rd Annual 5-Hour Energy 301 - Sunday, July 19, 2015
New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Loudon, NH - 1.058 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 301 Laps - 318.458 Miles - Purse: $5,386,439

Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Winnings    Status    Tms    Laps
1    4    18    Kyle Busch    Interstate Batteries Toyota    301    47    4    137.2    $271,031    Running    2    96
2    10    2    Brad Keselowski    Miller Lite Ford    301    44    2    133.1    $214,416    Running    3    100
3    12    4    Kevin Harvick    Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet    301    42    1    123.9    $184,550    Running    1    59
4    2    22    Joey Logano    Shell Pennzoil Ford    301    41    1    114.5    $161,258    Running    1    12
5    19    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Nationwide Chevrolet    301    39        104.7    $127,600    Running        
6    8    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    301    38        103.3    $144,026    Running        
7    1    19    Carl Edwards    Sport Clips Toyota    301    38    1    108.6    $107,315    Running    1    19
8    24    3    Austin Dillon    Dow Chevrolet    301    36        81.0    $137,601    Running        
9    23    24    Jeff Gordon    AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet    301    36    1    96.5    $137,901    Running    1    2
10    6    41    Kurt Busch    Haas Automation Chevrolet    301    34        103.3    $107,415    Running        
11    26    31    Ryan Newman    Quicken Loans Chevrolet    301    33        84.5    $124,590    Running        
12    15    78    Martin Truex Jr.    Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet    301    32        95.5    $117,485    Running        
13    22    47    AJ Allmendinger    Better Than Bouillon Chevrolet    301    32    1    86.3    $121,898    Running    1    13
14    5    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Freight Toyota    301    30        86.6    $102,615    Running        
15    29    43    Aric Almirola    Smithfield Ford    301    29        75.4    $125,251    Running        
16    21    13    Casey Mears    GEICO Chevrolet    301    28        63.3    $111,548    Running        
17    32    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Fastenal Ford    301    27        70.6    $95,515    Running        
18    3    55    David Ragan    Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota    301    26        73.2    $115,309    Running        
19    9    5    Kasey Kahne    Great Clips Chevrolet    301    25        85.0    $100,590    Running        
20    25    14    Tony Stewart    Mobil 1 Chevrolet    301    24        63.7    $113,804    Running        
21    37    38    David Gilliland    MDS Ford    301    23        52.0    $112,898    Running        
22    7    48    Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's Chevrolet    300    22        76.5    $129,826    Running        
23    16    21    Ryan Blaney(i)    SKF Ford    300    0        77.1    $81,665    Running        
24    20    10    Danica Patrick    GoDaddy Chevrolet    300    20        56.7    $92,965    Running        
25    28    27    Paul Menard    Richmond/Menards Chevrolet    300    19        61.1    $92,665    Running        
26    11    1    Jamie McMurray    McDonald's/Cessna Chevrolet    300    18        79.1    $114,356    Running        
27    14    16    Greg Biffle    Safety-Kleen Ford    299    17        56.7    $115,048    Running        
28    33    35    Cole Whitt    Taco Bell Ford    299    16        48.2    $95,373    Running        
29    27    9    Sam Hornish Jr.    Shaws/Smithfield Ford    299    15        43.0    $109,685    Running        
30    13    40    Landon Cassill(i)    Interstate Moving Srvcs./Precon Marine Chevrolet    299    0        61.8    $84,590    Running        
31    17    42    Kyle Larson    Target Chevrolet    299    13        63.7    $110,298    Running        
32    31    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    299    12        44.3    $124,190    Running        
33    34    34    Brett Moffitt #    Dockside Logistics Ford    297    11        45.6    $80,890    Running        
34    18    15    Clint Bowyer    5-Hour Energy Toyota    297    10        49.8    $113,348    Running        
35    35    83    Matt DiBenedetto #    Burger King Toyota    296    9        36.3    $88,537    Running        
36    38    46    Michael Annett    Pilot Flying J Chevrolet    296    8        36.7    $78,760    Running        
37    41    32    Eddie MacDonald    DraftDemons.com Ford    295    7        32.3    $78,542    Running        
38    43    98    Timmy Hill(i)    Residence Inn Ford    292    0        28.3    $73,727    Running        
39    42    33    Derek White(i)    Braille Battery/Grafoid Chevrolet    290    0        25.2    $69,655    Running        
40    30    51    Justin Allgaier    Brandt Chevrolet    284    4        45.8    $73,655    Running        
41    36    26    Jeb Burton #    Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota    239    3        30.1    $61,655    Running        
42    40    7    Alex Bowman    Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet    230    2        30.2    $57,655    Running        
43    39    23    JJ Yeley(i)    Dr Pepper Toyota    202    0        27.0    $54,155    Rear Gear        
 Race Comments:    Kyle Busch won the 5-hour ENERGY 301, his 32nd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, and second at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Prior to the start of the race, no cars dropped to the rear of the field.
 Failed to Qualify:    (1) 62 Reed Sorenson.
 Time of Race:    02 Hrs, 56 Mins, 06 Secs.    Average Speed:    108.504 MPH    Margin of Victory:    Caution
 Caution Flags:    7 for 34 laps: Laps: 23-26 (Debris Turn 1 [26]); 98-107 (Debris Turn 4 [17]); 118-121 (Debris Frontstretch [14]); 189-193 (Debris Turn 2 [38]); 200-203 (Car #27 stopped Turn 4 [51]); 252-257 (Fluid Turns 3 & 4 [38]); 301-301 (Car #7 accident Turn 2 [None]).
 Lead Changes:    9 among 7 drivers: C. Edwards 1-19; Kyle Busch 20-66; B. Keselowski 67-88; J. Gordon 89-90; A. Allmendinger 91-103; B. Keselowski 104-178; J. Logano 179-190; B. Keselowski 191-193; K. Harvick 194-252; Kyle Busch 253-301.
Chase Grid Outlook:     1.J. Johnson 646 (4 wins);2.K. Harvick 734 (2);3.D. Earnhardt Jr. 655 (2);4.Kurt Busch 576 (2);5.J. Logano 665 (1);6.M. Truex Jr. 628 (1);7.B. Keselowski 603 (1);8.M. Kenseth 578 (1);9.D. Hamlin 552 (1);10.C. Edwards 487 (1);11.J. Mcmurray 574 (0);12.J. Gordon 573 (0);13.K. Kahne 538 (0);14.R. Newman 530 (0);15.P. Menard 528 (0);16.A. Almirola 502 (0).
3M Lap Leader    : Kyle Busch, #18 95 Laps    American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award    : Kyle Busch, #18
Coors Light Pole Award    : Carl Edwards, #19 135.164 mph    Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : David Gilliland, #38 2 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Roush-Yates Engines, #2     Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Kyle Busch, #18
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Austin Dillon, #3 crew chief Richard Labbe, 0.003 seconds    Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : Kyle Busch, #18
Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Brett Moffitt, #34
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Jul. 26, 2015 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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