Kyle Busch (right) will try to stop brother Kurt from getting his third consecutive New Hampshire win on Sunday. Credit: Gavin Lawrence/Getty Images

Busch brothers in good position at Loudon

Defending winner Kurt starts fifth, Kyle starts seventh

LOUDON, N.H. -- For only the third time this season, brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch have both qualified in the top 10 for a Nextel Cup Series race.

Saturday at New Hampshire International Speedway, defending Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch qualified his No. 97 Ford fifth for Sunday's New England 300 -- his fifth top-five qualifying effort of the season -- and younger brother Kyle was seventh in his No. 5 Chevrolet.

	Credit: Gavin Lawrence/Getty Images
	Inside the Numbers A comparision of Kurt and Kyle Busch's Cup careers Category Kurt Kyle Starts 168 24 Wins 12 0 Top-5s 39 4 Top-10s 70 6 Poles 3 1 Avg. Start 18.5 23.3 Avg. Finish 17.7 24.0

Kurt, 26, has out-qualified his 20-year-old brother each time: Previously at Las Vegas (fifth to 10th) and Richmond (fourth to 10th).

Kurt, who says he's been continuing to try to help his little brother avoid some of the pitfalls he experienced earlier in his career, is trying to ease into the stretch run for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

He comes into Sunday's race, which is the eighth event preceding the cutoff for the Chase at Richmond in September, in 10th in the standings, 376 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

It's the same position he was in a year ago when he swept both NHIS Cup races.

"Loudon is a good place to get things started, whether it's the Chase or whether it's a solid run to the Chase," Kurt said. "With our season half over, the racetrack here has a great deal of importance just with the mental aspect.

"With it being a different style of racetrack, it lends itself to a variety of winners, of setups and of different approaches you could say.

"With our success on the flat one-mile ovals in the past, we're looking forward to this race weekend to get things kicked off -- just like we did last year."

Kurt got his lone win so far this season at Phoenix -- a track he likens to NHIS. Busch said he's tried to help his brother with the benefit of his four full seasons in Cup racing, as well as his Roush teammate Carl Edwards and anyone else who asks.

"This one is as similar as it can get to Phoenix in one aspect, and then Richmond has some small qualities that you can share with this place, so I just go back to information that (Edwards) knows and try to help compare," Busch said. "That's what I've done with my little brother and some of the other young drivers that come up with some questions.

"You just go through their knowledge bank to understand what they know and then help them compare the different places to one another."

The precocious Kyle Busch has a Bud Pole at California in the second race this season, but Saturday's run was only his sixth top-10 qualifying run of the year.

While Kyle leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings by 42 points over Travis Kvapil, he cited his inconsistency and likened it to that of his sophomore Hendrick Motorsports teammate, NHIS pole winner Brian Vickers.

Vickers started and finished in the top five last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway after three consecutive finishes worse than 29th. Kyle hasn't led a lap in five races and has finished 40th, 31st and 14th in his past three starts.

Vickers has five top-10s and Kyle, six. Each has three DNFs.

"From what Brian and I have been able to do here as of late, it's been really cool," Kyle said. "But we just need to finish out the deal and get it done.

ALSO Brian Vickers has his third career Bud Pole. He'll lead the field to the green flag for Sunday's New England 300 after posting the fastest speed in qualifying Saturday.  •   Complete story,  click here •   Lineup

"What it is exactly, we're not really sure how we need to get up there and finish well. Here as of late, we've really been able to run well everywhere (and) it's been good to be able to do that.

"It's just hard to try to finish those races out. We're not really sure why we've had such bad luck come about -- especially for myself.

"I seem to be running in the top five at some tracks and then I'll get my fender knocked in and have a tire go down on me or I'll have a motor problem or something like that -- so it's been circumstantial issues that have taken us out of the running to get some wins here."

While Kyle is 20th in the standings and a long shot to get much further than 15th, Kurt is trying to cement his position in the Chase -- which is no sure thing.

"I think consistency is obviously the key in the next eight races for us to get locked in -- to have that same momentum run carried into the fall Loudon race," Kurt said. "We knew what we had from the first Loudon race in July (2004), so it's something that sets the tone for the team internally."