LOUDON, N.H. (July 16, 2006) – Kyle Busch showcased the strength of his No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet team at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday, grabbing his first NEXTEL Cup win of 2006 in NASCAR’s version of overtime.
Busch, who led five times for a race-high 107 laps, moved to fourth in the championship standings after 19 of 36 races. It was team owner Rick Hendrick’s 146th NEXTEL Cup victory.
The event went eight laps longer than expected after multiple late-race incidents forced a green-white-checkered finish. Busch, 21, paced the final 69 circuits en route to his third career Cup win.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson was ninth in his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy, recording his 15th top-10 of the season. Jeff Gordon was 15th in the No. 24 DuPont Monte Carlo SS and Brian Vickers was 17th after starting third in the No. 25 GMAC Chevrolet.
Gordon moved up one position to ninth in the standings, with Vickers gaining two spots to 18th.