Kyle Busch wins to advance in playoff

Kyle Busch earned a berth in the second round of NASCAR’s playoffs with a dominant victory Sunday at New Hampshire Motorspeedway.

Busch slipped through smoke from a multi-car crash on the backstretch that knocked out Martin Truex Jr. and won for the third time this season.

Busch, who won from the pole, put together a complete effort and joined Truex in the next round of the playoffs. The field will be cut from 16 drivers to 12 following next week’s race at Dover International Speedway.

Truex, who won the playoff opener at Chicagoland, led 112 laps early until he was caught up in a wreck that ended his shot at a sixth win this year.

The playoff standings were shaken up in the wake of the massive wreck that sent playoff drivers Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick to the garage. Kurt Busch, the Daytona 500 champion, likely will have to win at Dover to advance to the second round. Harvick, the 2014 series champion, had accumulated enough playoff points that one DNF shouldn’t cost him a spot in the top 12.

Playoff drivers filled the top five spots in Sunday’s race: Kyle Larson was second, followed by Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Truex.

Brittany Force won the top-fuel title and Ron Capps beat Force’s sister Courtney in the funny car final at the Dodge NHRA Nationals in Mohnton, Pa. Bo Butner won in pro stock, Eddie Krawiec in pro stock motorcycle.