Kyle Busch, a temperamental 24-year-old with boundless talent, slapped a bold exclamation point Saturday night on the greatest NASCAR Nationwide Series season any driver has ever enjoyed.

Denny Hamlin, an intense 29-year-old driver who also has championship ability, put his own exclamation point on the liveliest current feud in any of NASCAR's national series.

Busch staved off a daring challenge from 2008 Nationwide champion Carl Edwards entering Turn 3 on the final lap at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval to secure his ninth victory of a record-shattering championship season.

Edwards, who had fresher tires, said with a smile, ``I just didn't have it in my heart at the end to spear him in Turn 3. I drove it in there [hard]. I just wanted to see how far I could go [before losing tire grip], see if I could get to him.''

He got Busch's attention. Edwards almost got the right-front fender of his No. 60 Ford to the left-rear bumper of Busch's No. 18 Z-Line Toyota before starting to slip up the track and easing off the gas.

``Carl made a banzai move there,'' an overjoyed Busch said before taking the stage for a championship celebration for the Joe Gibbs Racing organization. ``I wasn't sure whether we were going to connect or not.''

They didn't, and Busch, who had 11 second-place finishes to go with those nine victories in a 35-race season, beat Edwards to the checkered flag by 0.482 of a second. Jeff Burton, a two-time Nationwide [then Busch] Series winner at Homestead, finished third.

Hamlin and bitter rival Brad Keselowski did ``connect'' early in the 200-lap chase that started in daylight and finished under bright lights and fireworks. Hamlin, spun by Keselowski at Phoenix a week ago, had vowed to retaliate. And he did.

Exiting Turn 4 on lap 35, Hamlin popped the left rear of Keselowski's Chevrolet and sent it pirouetting down the front stretch. Keselowski managed to keep from hitting the wall, though the cars appeared to brush as Hamlin darted past.

NASCAR promptly summoned Hamlin to pit road, where he was held for a one-lap penalty. Afterward, their words suggested that this one isn't over.

``I've got a feeling that when he wakes up in the morning, he's not going to feel any better about himself,'' said Keselowski, an impetuous 21-year-old newcomer who has scored four Nationwide victories this year but ruffled more feathers than Hamlin's along the way.

``I feel great right now,'' a beaming Hamlin said. ``It was well worth [the penalty]. I thought when I went down pit road [to serve his penalty] I had won the race. I've never seen so many crews applaud and give thumbs-up.''

Burton, a paragon of safety in NASCAR, didn't dodge the issue when he was asked afterward about emotions that flare enough to cause drivers to use 3,500-pound cars as weapons.

``I thought Denny did the right thing,'' he said. ``When you constantly get spun out by the same guy, you've got to put your foot down. It should never get that far but there comes a point where you can no longer take it.''

The top four Ford 300 finishers and Keselowski, who came in 12th, will be sharing the same asphalt again Sunday. But NASCAR officials, who warned both the Hamlin and Keselowski teams to cease and desist after Hamlin's action, will be ready to exact harsh punishment if the feud carries over.

Busch, himself a periodic lightning rod of controversy for a hairtrigger temper, despises losing and lets his feelings be known when he does.

Exasperated midway through the race, he radioed his crew, ``This is my worst race track on the circuit. I can't stand this place.''

He felt differently later, when he finally found a line through the corners that allowed him to get the most out of his car. Busch was running laps in the mid-160s in the final dueling.

The 73 laps he led (to Edwards' 53 and Burton's 49) boosted his season total to a mind-blowing 2,698. That is a record, as are his 11 runner-up finishes.

``I don't mean to be selfish,'' he fibbed, ``but that's a great way for these guys [on the crew] to go out. They deserve this.''

Busch's parents were there to share his joy, as was brother Kurt, who won the 2004 Sprint Cup championship by eight points over Jimmie Johnson in the most dramatic Chase for the Cup finish by light years.

Kurt will start 12th and Kyle 30th in Sunday's Ford 400 finale to the Sprint Cup season.