Published: November 21, 2009 11:55 pm      

Kyle Busch wins title, Nationwide finale

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.

“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 Saturday 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 over polesitter 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, 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 driver 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.”

Hamlin was cheered by fans who heard his comments over the public address system. His aggressive, self-policing style was a hit with the crowd.

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.

“It’s tough to have a rivalry with a mid-pack driver,” Hamlin said. “I shouldn’t be racing him, anyway. ... I just wanted to send a message that I am a man of my word, and my father once told me, if you say you are going to do something, you’ve got to do it. And he told me I had to do it, so I had to do it.”

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

Busch became the first Nationwide champ to win the season finale since Sam Ard in 1983.

“It hasn’t been done in a long time, so I guess you know how hard it is to do for someone to come out here and win the final race of the year,” Busch said.

Busch’s 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.”

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