Edwards wins race, Bowyer the title

Edwards did what he could to defend his championship, but once he was in the lead in the closing stages of the race it was out his hands.

Bowyer was fifth at the flag, which was enough to win his first national NASCAR crown. He ran a conservative race and didn't risk pitting for tyres on the last caution of the day with nine laps remaining to maintain track position and score 21 points more than Edwards.

Kyle Busch challenged Edwards at the last restart, but the Roush Fenway racer managed to keep him at bay.

"That is a great win," Edwards said. "To be able to hold off the No.18 (Kyle Busch) as strong as they are, that was a good race. I had a really good time.

"Congratulations to Clint and those guys, he is a class act. It's not good to finish second in the championship, but I know he will be a good champion for Nationwide. If I have to get beat by somebody, a dirt racer from Emporia, Kansas is the best guy to get beat by.

"One of the neatest things about this series, and about the championship, is that it's different from the Cup series in that it's all season - it's not tonight that determined this championship. We will be back next year and I hope Clint comes back and races with us, that would be fun."

Bowyer had a trouble-free race, despite not being a contender for victory. He became the 20th different driver to win NASCAR's second-tier series, having won only one race during the year, but he scored 29 top ten finishes and had a more consistent year than his main rival for the title.

Edwards grabbed the lead for the first time on lap 39 and, having run the first quarter of the race distance, he was in position to win the title as Bowyer was struggling to make enough progress from his 13th starting position.

However, Bowyer gained track position during the fourth caution of the day when he took only two new tyres while most of the field went for four. Edwards did the same and came out of the pits third, right ahead of Bowyer. From then on, the Richard Childress Racing driver did enough to stay as close as possible to his rival not to risk losing the title.

"We've raced for a long time and we're both from the Midwest, he's a good competitor, a true champion and it feels really good to be able to beat him," Bowyer said about Edwards. "We've been consistent and we've done the things it takes to win championships. It's just incredible. I'm so excited for everybody.

"I was getting tight there in the end. I really didn't want to see that last caution but in hindsight it worked out."

Brad Keselowski rounded off a good season with third behind Busch as the best of the non-Cup regulars all season long. Jason Leffler was fourth, ahead of Bowyer, while Scott Wimmer acted as a shield to his RCR teammate in the closing laps after the last restart to finish sixth.

Completing the top-ten was Joey Logano, whose finish clinched the owner's title for the No.20 Toyota of Joe Gibbs. Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin contributed with wins during the year to beat the No.2 RCR car of Bowyer in the standings.

Dale Earnhardt Jr finished eighth in the season finale but it was his driver Landon Cassill, who drove his No.5 car in 19 races this season and claimed the Raybestos Rookie of The Year honours.

Juan Pablo Montoya ran as high as second at one point after gambling on a tyre strategy early on, in what was his second race of the year in the Nationwide Series. However, he didn't have enough pace to stay in contention after that and could only manage a 17th place finish.

Results to follow