LOUDON, N.H. ? Kurt Busch was seventh among the title contenders heading into Sunday’s first race of NASCAR’s new 10-man, 10-race Nextel Cup championship format.

In the days leading up to the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, whenever Busch was asked what the first race of the championship showdown would be like, he smiled and said, “Who knows, we could be the points leader come the end of Sunday.”

Guess what.

A dominating performance gave Busch a sweep of the 2004 events at the New Hampshire track and lifted him into a tie with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the points lead with nine races remaining.

“Well, No. 1 is in the books, but there’s still an awful lot of work to do,” Busch said after leading 155 of the 300 laps on the 1.058-mile oval.

Busch was just as strong late in the July race at New Hampshire when he won easily, solidifying his spot in the top 10 in the same No. 97 Roush Racing Ford that he drove Sunday. The win was the third of the season and 11th of his career for Busch.

“This car was awesome. It was real tough,” he said, laughing. “We had to take the car cover off and throw (the car) back out on the track.”

Although he is tied for the top spot, it is just the third time in Busch’s four-year Cup career that he has been atop the point standings. He led for one race after finishing second at Rockingham in February 2003 and again for one race after finishing sixth at Texas in April.

Matt Kenseth, the 2003 series champion, was second, crossing the finish line 2.488-seconds — about 20 car lengths — behind his Roush Racing teammate.

“I knew we probably weren’t going to catch him,” Kenseth said. “Kurt had a great car and was getting through the center of the corner really fast. I tried to keep up with him as long as I could.

“We were set up a little different than Kurt. We couldn’t do anything with him, but I’m pretty happy with the way it went.”

Kenseth won the Cup championship last year in a relatively boring runaway that helped NASCAR in its decision to change the points format.

Kurt Busch celebrates after winning NASCAR's first race of the new 10-man, 10-race championship showdown. He claimed the Sylvania 300 on Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H.