Kurt Busch (left) had the only car capable of competing with the dominant car of Tony Stewart (right). Credit: Autostock

Busch the big points winner after Sunday

Defending champ nearly scores third straight win at Loudon

LOUDON, N.H. -- Kurt Busch's quest for a three-peat at Loudon failed in Sunday's New England 300, but he was happy to make a quantum leap in the Nextel Cup standings.

	Kurt Busch
	NEW ENGLAND 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.E. 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

Coming into the weekend in the same 10th position in the points as a year ago, Busch had taken pains to say last year's victory here was critical in the march to his first series title.

In 2004, Busch picked up four spots with his New England 300 victory.

Sunday, after he finished .851 seconds behind Tony Stewart, Busch left New Hampshire one position better in the standings -- actually tied for fifth with Ryan Newman.

"It's a race leading up to the Chase," Busch said. "We have to go and we need consistent finishes, so I'm happy."

Consistency has to be a concern, not only for Busch but for everyone else involved in the run up to the Chase for the Nextel Cup, which is now seven races from the cutoff at Richmond in September.

Busch might have gained five spots, but he's only 93 points ahead of 10th place Dale Jarrett and 152 points clear of 13th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Leader Jimmie Johnson is only 77 points ahead of Greg Biffle and 85 up on Stewart, but he's 230 better than fourth place Rusty Wallace and 325 ahead of Busch and Newman.

"What's cool about the point system right now is that we were only 30 points out of sixth going into the day and we're 100 away from 15th (actually 213)," Busch said. "Right now, consistency is the key.

Busch recovered from this Lap 30 spin Credit: Autostock

"I would have loved to have won today, but we're not on our last thread. It's the same feeling as last year: Let's run some races (and) get some nice, smooth finishes."

Sunday's run was far from smooth for Busch and his Roush Racing crew.

After starting fifth, Busch spun on Lap 30, and a miscue on pit road sent Busch back as far to 38th on Lap 60.

But 100 laps later, he was back in the top 10, where he remained for the rest of the way.

"It was really a fun day -- just to pass a bunch of cars," Busch said. "We knew coming into this race that you can't have trouble and the car needs to be able to race on the flat part and go underneath guys and maneuver.

"I'm real proud of our effort, though. This is the same Ford we bring to this flat track (and) I'm real proud of it.

"We'll polish it up and, hopefully, we'll be ready to go when we come back here in September."

A year ago, Busch broke his car's transmission at Pocono and finished 26th.

After that, he cranked off six straight top-15s before the Chase cutoff.