The Sprint Cup Series moved to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the 5-Hour Energy 301.
Carl Edwards was the polesitter, and took off when the green flag dropped. Busch caught him on Lap 19, however, passing him and taking over the lead.
In the early stages of the race, the story was the Joe Gibbs Racing who had three of their four drivers in the top-five on Lap 11. The only exception was Denny Hamlin, who was running in ninth position.
The first caution of the race came out on Lap 21 for debris in Turn 1.
Jeb Burton got the free pass to get back on the lead lap. That led to the first pit stops of the afternoon. Brad Keselowski led the drivers onto pit road, with the top-five not coming in. When the pit stops were done, Keselowski restarted in ninth position.
Hendrick Motorsports also had a solid run going, as all four of their drivers were running in positions 10 through 13 on Lap 39. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the parade of Hendrick drivers, with Jeff Gordon rounding out the group. Earnhardt didn’t stop there, as it only took 10 laps for him to pass Matt Kenseth for eighth position.
Earnhardt then kept going, as 10 laps later he passed Joey Logano for the sixth position. While he made that pass, Kevin Harvick passed Edwards for the fourth position. Earnhardt then promptly took fifth from Edwards.
Keselowski recovered from his pit stop by Lap 62 when he had raced his way up to second place, just hundredths of a second behind Busch. Keselowski finally passed Busch on Lap 67 to take the lead.
Edwards came to pit road for a green flag pit stop on Lap 76, which began the cycle. Kenseth was issued a penalty for speeding at the entrance of pit road - his fourth such penalty of the season.
The second caution of the day came out on Lap 96 for debris in Turn 4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. received the free pass to get back on the lead lap. The debris most likely came from Alex Bowman, who came to pit road and caught fire as he left his pit stall. He was able to get out of his car, and took the mandatory trip to the infield care center.
Keselowski brought the field back to green 11 laps later, as the clean up from the fire took a while. It was short lived, though, as the caution reappeared nine laps later for debris on the front straightaway. Tony Stewart got the free pass on that caution.
They went back to green on Lap 122 with Keselowski leading the field. Ryan Blaney then had to go to pit road to fix a possible loose wheel, and subsequently got a penalty for speeding on pit road.
Harvick passed Kurt Busch for the third position on Lap 136, then began trying to pass Ky. Busch for second position. At the halfway mark, Keselowski still led Ky. Busch, while Harvick remained in third.
That led to another round of green flag pit stops, which started on Lap 170 when Ku. Busch came to pit road. Jimmie Johnson was issued a penalty for speeding on pit road.
The caution returned on Lap 188 for debris in Turn 3. David Gilliland got the free pass on that one, and the caution also allowed the rest of the field to cycle through pit stops.
Paul Menard began smoking on Lap 197, then spun near the pit road entrance, forcing NASCAR to throw the fifth caution of the day. Justin Allgaier got the free pass, putting him back on the lead lap.
Menard then picked up four penalties during the sequence. The first was for entering pit road without using the commitment cone. The second was because the caution was out, and he pitted before the pits were opened. Then to top it all off, he got two speeding penalties.
Harvick led the field back to the green flag on Lap 202, while Keselowski restarted in second position. Clint Bowyer had an interesting few laps as he had a tire rub, then tried to nurse his car around the track without bringing out the caution. At the same time, Allgaier was smoking as he went around the race track.
The caution returned on Lap 250 after multiple drivers complained of oil in Turn 2. David Gilliland got the free pass for that caution, putting him back on the lead lap. Kasey Kahne was one of the drivers to pit, and he initially got a penalty for too many crewmen over the wall, however, NASCAR reviewed the infraction and overturned the penalty. Jimmie Johnson was issued a penalty for speeding on pit road.
Ky. Busch took the white flag, but before he could make it back around, Bowman hit the wall, bringing out the caution. According to NASCAR rules, if this happens, the field is frozen at the moment of caution, and NASCAR will review the order of finish. The final ruling gave Ky. Busch his third win of the season. Busch is now just 54 points away from being eligible for the Chase, after he missed the first half of the season due to a broken leg suffered in the season opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona.
Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top-5 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Next week, the Sprint Cup series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Crown Royal Presents The Jeff Kyle 400 At The Brickyard, set for next Sunday at 3:30 ET.