Hamlin had a comfortable lead over Busch as they headed toward the white flag, but rookie Colin Braun spun to bring out just the third caution of the race.
NASCAR reset the laps to create a two-lap sprint to the finish. Hamlin got a great jump on the restart and Busch couldn’t challenge him as Hamlin drove to his third Nationwide Series win of the year.
“I’ve got to thank Kyle for sticking with me right there in the end,” Hamlin said. “The only way we were going is if he actually went for the win.”
JGR drivers have dominated the series this season — cars owned by the organization have won 12 times and drivers Hamlin, Busch, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart have combined to win 13 of the 18 series races this year.
Busch stayed in line behind his teammate over the final two laps and came home second, followed by Earnhardt, Bowyer and Brad Keselowski. Kasey Kahne, Scott Wimmer, David Stremme, David Ragan and Mike Bliss completed the top 10.
“I thought Tony was in the 20 all night,” Earnhardt said. “I didn’t know Denny was in it—so congratulations, Denny.”
“It was hard to beat those guys,” Earnhardt said. “Kyle and Tony were both really fast.”
“I think the reason for the confusion was that the colors [on the car] are the ones [Tony] usually runs,” Hamlin said of the candy-apple-red No. 20 machine. “But my head’s a lot smaller than his.”
Even though Earnhardt hung back on the restart on Lap 104, the top three positions didn’t change during the final two laps of a race that went five laps beyond its scheduled distance.
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