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Kyle Busch wins New Hampshire playoff race from the pole

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Kyle Busch gets past a mid-race wreck to win Stage 2 and holds on for a trip to victory lane at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Busch's ISM Connect 300 win advances him to the Round of 12.

Kyle Busch fended off the field through three restarts in the final 33 laps to win the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway from the pole.

The win is Busch’s third of the season and advances him to the second round of the playoffs.

Busch led 187 of the race’s 300 laps to beat Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr.

“All in all a great day,” Busch told NBCSN. “This thing was awesome. We ran upfront all day long. We executed, we did a good job, we did what we were supposed to do. It’s awesome to win in the Granite State in front of all of these fans.”

Busch was in position to win after avoiding a last-lap crash in Stage 2 that involved multiple playoff cars, including Truex, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick.

It is Busch’s third win at New Hampshire and his first since 2015.

STAGE 1 WINNER: Martin Truex Jr.

STAGE 2 WINNER: Kyle Busch

MORE: Race results

MORE: Points standings

WHO HAD A GOOD DAY: Kyle Larson finished second in both New Hampshire races this year. ... Matt Kenseth earned his third top-three finish this year and his eighth top five. ... Joey Logano finished 10th after starting last and receiving a pit penalty mid-race. ... Brad Keselowski’s top five is his first in the last seven races.

WHO HAD A BAD DAY: Playoff drivers Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch were eliminated after the multi-car crash on the last lap of Stage 2. Harvick finished 36th and Kurt Busch finished 37th. … Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 34th after being in the Stage 2 accident and later losing a left rear tire with about 85 laps to go. … David Ragan and Trevor Bayne caused cautions on consecutive restarts for single-car accidents. Ragan finished 29th, Bayne placed 24th. ... Kasey Kahne finished 35th after a track bar broke on his No. 5 Chevrolet.

NOTABLE: Kyle Larson finished second for the eighth time this season. ... Larson and Brad Keselowski clinched their way into the second round of the playoffs based on points. ... With his 41st Cup win, Kyle Busch broke a tie with Mark Martin for 17th in all-time. ... Clint Bowyer has one unsecured lug nut in post-race inspection.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “That was pretty intense. That was some Days of Thunder stuff over there. You couldn’t see anything. It was just a wall of smoke over there off of Turn 2. I listened to the spotter and was basically told to stop and I thought ‘that sounds like a good idea.’” - Kyle Busch describing the wreck on the last lap of Stage 2 he avoided, setting up his win.

NEXT: Delaware 400 at Dover International Speedway at 2 p.m. ET on Oct. 1 on NBCSN.