Kurt Busch wins the 2015 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway

With an assist from Mother Nature, Kurt Busch won a rain-shortened Quicken Loans 400 Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Busch was leading when a thunderstorm rolled in, forcing NASCAR to stop the race 62 laps short of the scheduled 200-lap distance. Persistent inclement weather forced officials to halt the race three times before the final stoppage. The three red flags totaled just over two hours.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second, with Martin Truex Jr. -- who won last week at Pocono Raceway -- in third. Rounding out the top five were Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano, who recovered from running out of fuel earlier

“You don’t know when the track is going to be dry, and then if rain is going to come again,” Busch said of the multiple red flags. “You’ve just got to be ready. “Any time they tell you to go to your car, that’s when it’s game time, and you race hard, you race to win.

“It’s tough starting and stopping, but that’s part of our sport. You never can challenge Mother Nature. She’s in charge.”

Busch’s win Sunday was the 27th of his career and second of 2015, which came in a backup car following a crash in practice Friday.

Busch missed the first three races of the season, serving a NASCAR-imposed suspension following allegations he committed domestic abuse against ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll last September. He was reinstated a week after the Delaware Attorney General’s office declined to pursue criminally charges.

Busch has consistently been one of the better drivers since returning. He trails only series points leader and defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick, a teammate at Stewart-Haas Racing, in laps led and average finish.

“There’s so many tangibles that come up from a win,” Busch said. “Any time you win a second race, it really gives you that stamp on you’re in the Chase, now let’s work through these summer months to continue to make the team better.”

Harvick dominated for much of the afternoon, leading a race-high 63 laps and appearing ready to score his third victory of the season. But a valve stem failure caused the right-front tire on the No. 4 car to go flat, requiring Harvick to make an unscheduled pit stop. He finished 29th.

On Lap 126, debris off Harvick’s car set up the deciding sequence Sunday. With the sky darkening and rain moving in, Kyle Larson attempted to steal the win by not stopping on pit road despite being low on fuel.

When the race restarted, Larson separated himself from Busch and Earnhardt, but -- needing gas -- he pitted on Lap 133 and handed the lead to Busch. Three laps later the rain began, halting the race permanently. Larson finished 17th.

“It’s stressful when it rains like that, when it’s off and on and off and on,” said Tony Gibson, Busch’s crew chief. “You’re looking at a radar screen, but you don’t know exactly when it’s going to hit. It was pretty stressful for everybody, but everybody stayed calm and cool.”

As equally as good a day Busch enjoyed, younger brother Kyle experienced the polar opposite when he crashed hard and nearly head-on into the Turn 4 wall. The accident occurred just laps after a Lap 60 restart, even though some drivers, including Harvick, said rain was falling.

Kyle Busch -- who missed 11 races with injuries sustained in a February crash at Daytona International Speedway -- was uninjured and did not comment.

The incident further hinders Kyle Busch’s outside chance of earning a Chase berth -- his 43rd-place finish dropped him 173 points behind 30th-ranked Justin Allgaier in the standings. To qualify, Busch not only must win a regular season race, but also finish 30th or better in points.