Tulsa World: Kyle Busch wins Nationwide title, finale

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Kyle Busch wins Nationwide title, finale

Kyle Busch (center) drinks Champagne as he celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Ford 300 Nationwide series auto race and winning the series championship at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., Saturday.AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

By DAN GELSTON Associated Press
Published: 11/21/2009 4:56 PM
Last Modified: 11/21/2009 7:00 PM

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Kyle Busch made it a double dose of celebration, winning the Nationwide Series championship before completing a lap and capping his night at Homestead-Miami Speedway with his ninth trip to Victory Lane.

Busch held off a hard-charging Carl Edwards to win the 300-mile race, a fitting ending because the two NASCAR stars finished 1-2 in the final standings.

Team owner Joe Gibbs led the Joe Gibbs Racing team in a short prayer shortly after Busch won the race.

Busch only needed to start the race Saturday to win his first NASCAR title. When the green flag dropped on the race, Busch was the champ.

Busch finished with nine wins in the second-tier series and had 11 second-place finishes. He entered with a 190-point lead over polesitter Edwards.

“I wanted to win this race badly,” Edwards said.

His championship helped him get his swagger back and eased the sting from his failure to qualify for the Chase for the championship in the Sprint Cup series.

Busch grabbed the Nationwide championship flag and wildly waved it from the top of his No. 18 Toyota. He high-fived every member of his JGR crew and seemed emotional talking about how much it meant to have his parents and brother at the race.

“It’s cool,” Busch said. “This win here means a lot for Joe Gibbs Racing.”

Busch wasn’t the only driver setting off fireworks.

Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin added another chapter to their simmering feud early in the race.

The latest run-in came when Hamlin made good on his promise to go after Keselowski. Hamlin tapped Keselowski from behind and spun him out on lap 35, though not a serious enough hit to end his day.

The two raced side-by-side or bumper-to-bumper for most of the race, sparking some life into a finale that needed some juice after Busch wrapped up his title at the start.

NASCAR parked Hamlin for a lap for rough driving. Hamlin said crews from the other teams cheered and applauded as he pulled the No. 11 Toyota into pit road.

“I don’t really hold any grudges. I’m ready to move on,” Keselowski said. “Hell, I’ve already moved on. Hopefully, he feels the same way.”

Well, he hasn’t entirely moved on. Keselowski quickly added that Hamlin “has a lot of problems on and off the racetrack” and didn’t think the JGR drive would feel good about what he did in the morning.

Hamlin laughed off those comments.

“I feel great right now,” he said. “It was well worth it.”

The escalating feud might have one more round in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

Keselowski met with top NASCAR officials last week at Phoenix International Raceway after his latest dust up with Hamlin. Contact between the two has led to five Hamlin wrecks dating back to last season, and Hamlin vowed revenge.

Jeff Burton, Joey Logano and Hamlin round out the top five. Keselowski was 12th.

By DAN GELSTON Associated Press

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