Cool Kyle in control

Kyle Busch won his eighth race of the season of Sunday at Watkins Glen, holding off Tony Stewart to guarantee top seed in the Chase for the Spring Cup.

Busch managed to edge out his Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Stewart - as well as the charging Marcos Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya - to ensure his spot in Victory Lane.

Busch stayed out front for a nine lap shootout - after a red flag which stopped the race for nearly 45 minutes following a monster 10 car crash.

The 18 car took the lead on lap 66 of 90 after then-leader Dale Earnhardt Jnr was forced to pit after staying out in first after the rest of the field had pitted. 'Junior' managed a respectable 22nd, but the result pushed him to fourth in the standings after being leapfrogged by Carl Edwards (ninth) and Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jimmie Johnson (seventh).

But perhaps the most impressive run of the race was not those of Stewart and Busch, but Australian Ambrose, who is not hugely experienced on the NASCAR Sprint Cup racing scene. But after he won on Saturday night and grabbed third place at Watkins Glen, he may well be a picture of the Sprint Cup's future.

Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon retained fifth and sixth place in the standings after finishing 17th and 29th respectively, while Stewart jumped two places to seventh.

Kasey Kahne dropped to eighth in the standings after finishing 14th, while Denny Hamlin is ninth after an eighth-place finish.

Greg Biffle, who was 21st, sunk two places to tenth, while Kevin Harvick (sixth) is in 11th. Matt Kenseth jumped into the Chase after recording a decent 12th place, but Clint Bowyer fell to 13th - which will cost him a place in the Chase should the standings stay the same after the next four races have been completed - after stopping in 23rd.