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Heading into the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, Kurt Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup Series Champion, had struggled all season, with just two top-10's. Busch spent most of the race outside the top-10, but came to the pits on lap 217 for fuel, with plans to stay out the rest of the way.

After a wreck by Dale Earnhardt Jr. on lap 271, Busch gained the lead as the rest of the leaders came into the pits for fuel. Busch's concerns were making it to the end of the race with the remaining fuel in his tank, and holding off the pack in the final 25 laps.

However, just a couple of laps after the restart, Sam Hornish Jr. made contact with Clint Bowyer, sending the two spinning in turns three and four. The caution came out for the seventh time, and then the race was red-flagged for rain. Less than ten minutes after the red flag was thrown, Nascar called the race, giving Kurt Busch his first victory since August of last year.

"These guys made an awesome call," Busch said. "Sometimes you just don't win 'em the right way, I think we can honestly say that, but we had a lot of work and a lot of effort put in today and we'll take it."

The win vaulted Busch from 22nd to 18th in points. Busch is still 215 points behind Bowyer, who sits 12th in points, but this win was the first step towards a possible rebound for the team that has finished 32nd or worse five times in 17 races.

Behind Busch was Michael Waltrip, who earned his best finish since April of 2005, and J.J Yeley, who's third place finish tied the team's all-time best.

Meanwhile Tony Stewart dominated the race, leading 132 of 284 laps, but fell to 13th when Busch and others stayed out on the track or took fuel only on the last stop, and when the race ended just a couple laps later he was left with another disappointing finish.

"It's just been the oddest year I've ever seen for this race team," Stewart said. "It's just frustrating. There isn't anybody that's going to tell you any different than that. There's nothing you can do. If there was something we could do about it we'd change it."

Stewart's teammate Kyle Busch was involved in a late-race conflict with Juan Pablo Montoya. The two had bumped and ####ed in the laps before the final caution. Several moments after the field had slowed to caution speed, the two exchanged bumps on the front straightaway before Montoya turned into Busch, who's spinning car came back and made contact with Montoya and sent him spinning as well.

Montoya would be penalized two laps for reckless driving, and finished 32nd, while the points leader Busch finished 25th.

With just nine races left before the Chase begins, the battle to be in the top-12 is heating up, with 9th to 14th place seperated by just 97 points. 12th place Clint Bowyer is just 8 points ahead of Matt Kenseth who sits 13th.

After the challenging road course in Sonoma the Sprint Cup Series heads northeast to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This may be a one-miler but this speedway is known for bumping and ####ing, along with exciting finishes. With an extra lap added onto this race, that's and extra lap of excitement.

1. Kyle Busch

After briefly giving up the top spot the Shrub returns to the top of the rankings off his dominating win at Sonoma. Kyle has shown that he can and will win anywhere, and he'll be a favorite again this weekend at Loudon, where he won in 2005.

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt was happy to leave Infineon with a decent finish of 12th, considering his previous performances there. Earnhardt can look forward to the Magic Mile, however, where he's earned seven top-10's, including a 4th here last year.

3. Carl Edwards

Carl had a car capable of earning the win at Infineon, but when he fell back in the pack due to pit strategy the deficit was just too much to overcome, though Edwards came back for a 9th place finish. Carl hasn't enjoyed much success at Loudon though, where he only has one finish better than 12th in seven career starts.

4. Matt Kenseth

Kenseth earned his best career finish at Infineon, surviving all the madness happening around him to finish 8th. Matt should improve on that at Loudon, where he has ten top-10's in the last 11 races.

5. Greg Biffle

The Biff led briefly at Infineon, but made a mistake on the restart and went spinning, sending him to the back of the pack. He stuck with it all day and came back to finish 11th. He's been hit or miss at Loudon, earning three straight top-5's but then following that with three straight finishes outside the top-10 in the past six races.

6. Jeff Burton

Burton had another average day at Infineon, riding along in mid pack before finishing 13th. He should improve on that at Loudon, where he's earned four top-10's in the past five races.

7. Brian Vickers

Vickers finished a solid 14th at Infineon, tying his career best finish there, to keep himself in contention to make the Chase. WIth 12 races left before the Chase starts, Vickers sits 104 points out of the top-12. Vickers earned a top-5 here in 2006, but only made one of the races last year, finishing last.

8. Jeff Gordon

Gordon earned a much needed 3rd place finish after struggling throughout the day, vaulting him back up to sixth in the points standings. Last year Gordon was just off in both races, finishing 2nd to Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer.

9. Jimmie Johnson

Johnson led early, but after he fell back in the pack he failed to make any progress, and stayed there at the finish, coming across the line 15th. Johnson should be a contender at Loudon, however, where he swept the races in 2003 and has four top-10's in the past five races.

10. Tony Stewart

Stewart tip-toed his way through the pack after starting 39th, making his way to 2nd with just a few laps to go. However he was caught up in an incident that started behind him and fell to 19th with just a couple laps left. Stewart charged through the pack on a mission though, making up nine of the lost spots before the checkered flag. He should have a good day at Loudon, where he's won twice and has 11 top-10's.


Other Notables:

11. Kasey Kahne- After three finishes of 2nd or better in four races it looked as though Kahne was going to again contend at Infineon when he earned the pole. However Kahne fell to the back from the start and stayed there, finishing 33rd. Kahne needs to right the ship this weekend.

12. Clint Bowyer- Bowyer earned a much needed 4th place finish last week, and he should add on to that at Loudon, where he earned his first career victory last year.

13. Denny Hamlin- Hamlin was involved in a late race crash at Infineon and finished 27th, but he should rebound at Loudon, where he is the defending winner of this race.

14. David Gilliland- Gilliland earned his best career finish at Infineon, finishing 2nd behind Kyle Busch. Gilliland has been improving all year, and should earn a solid finish at Loudon.

15. Kevin Harvick- After sparking a late race wreck that involved four cars, Harvick finished 30th, his sixth consecutive finish outside the top-10. Worst of all he fell outside the top-12 in points. Harvick needs to get something going this weekend at Loudon, where he won in 2006.