Double victory for Busch in Nationwide

By: JournalNow Staff | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 22, 2009

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.

"It's not easy to win in any division in this sport when you're racing against the best," Busch said.

Busch only needed to start the race last night 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 finished with a 210-point lead against pole-sitter Edwards.

"It was fun to watch and fun to be a part of at the end," Busch said. "I felt like I wasn't the best driver here tonight, but the guys gave me a car capable of winning."

Busch has 20 wins this season in the Trucks Series, Nationwide and Sprint Cup.

Busch, who won his 30th career Nationwide race, 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, although not a serious enough hit to end Keselowski's 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 said he didn't think that Hamlin 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."