Hamlin wins Nationwide at Kansas

Hamlin took the lead from early dominator Kevin Harvick thanks to a fast pitstop under caution on lap 94 and led a further 99 times - nearly half of the distance - to take an uncontested victory for Toyota, which clinches the manufacturer's title for the Japanese brand, the first for them in NASCAR's second-tier series.

"We didn't have the best car in qualifying, didn't have the best car to begin the race, but the team did a great job making adjustments throughout the race and the car kept getting better and better," Hamlin said after claiming the tenth victory for the No. 18 Joe Gibbs team, which still has their main crew members suspended.

"What a great accomplishment for Toyota to come into the sport and two years later lock up a championship in the Nationwide Series. It means a lot."

Points leader Clint Bowyer tried his best to close on Hamlin in the end from second place but didn't have enough to challenge him. However, his second place helps him build an even bigger cushion in the points as the championship gets to its final five races.

"We were trying as hard as we could but didn't have enough right there," Bowyer said. "The No. 18 team have done their homework and have been beating us bad all year long but it feels good to come back here and have a good show. All you want to do is run good, ran up front all day and we almost did that.

"We needed a longer run in the end, it just took too long for us to get going."

Following strong practice sessions on the Cup side earlier in the day, the Roush Fenway drivers had a good afternoon in the Nationwide Series as well, finishing third, fourth and fifth, led by second-year driver David Ragan and followed by Matt Kenseth.

Behind them, Carl Edwards made a great recovery after dropping down the order following an extra pitstop under caution early in the race to fix damage on the front end of his car.

The reigning champion finished fifth but didn't have a good day as far as his title hopes, as he finished behind Bowyer.

"It was wild," said Edwards. "Looked like something hit the splitter and broke it but the guys did a really good job. We had the car the best it could be at the end and we got a good finish but we didn't close any points on Clint. He did his job today and stretched out that lead."

Polesitter Kevin Harvick led almost the entire first half of the race until he lost the lead to Hamlin in the pits. Approaching his final pitstop and while in the lead again, he ran out of power due to a faulty alternator, which required a battery change that put him a lap down and out of contention for victory.

Kyle Busch had another tough day at the office, crashing out of the race on lap 153 when Mike Bliss crashed into the back of his Braun Racing Toyota at turn four when he was slowing down to enter the pits. Brad Keselowski spun behind the pair but managed to avoid contact and stay in contention to finish sixth.

Also crashing among the eight Sprint Cup regulars who were on double-duty this weekend was Mark Martin, who crashed hard at turn two as early as lap 45, while battling at the wheel of JR Motorsports No. 5 Chevy.

The 49-year-old sat down on the track after getting out of his car but was later released from the infield care centre.

Clint Bowyer now leads the standing by 196 points to reigning champion Edwards, while Keselowski has dropped to 268 points behind the RCR driver in the title hunt.

Pos  Driver               Make        Laps
 1.  Denny Hamlin         Toyota       200
 2.  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet    200
 3.  David Ragan          Ford         200
 4.  Carl Edwards         Ford         200
 5.  Matt Kenseth         Ford         200
 6.  Brad Keselowski      Chevrolet    200
 7.  Kasey Kahne          Dodge        200
 8.  Jason Leffler        Toyota       200
 9.  Joey Logano          Toyota       200
10.  Kelly Bires          Ford         200
11.  Marcos Ambrose       Ford         200
12.  Mike Bliss           Chevrolet    200
13.  Kevin Harvick        Chevrolet    200
14.  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet    200
15.  Mike Wallace         Toyota       200
16.  David Reutimann      Toyota       200
17.  David Stremme        Chevrolet    200
18.  Greg Biffle          Ford         198
19.  Jason Keller         Ford         198
20.  Scott Lagasse Jr     Chevrolet    197
21.  Bryan Clauson        Dodge        196
22.  Mark Green           Chevrolet    196
23.  Robert Richardson Jr Chevrolet    196
24.  Morgan Shepherd      Dodge        196
25.  Bobby Hamilton Jr    Ford         196
26.  Danny Efland         Chevrolet    195
27.  Brandon Whitt        Ford         195
28.  Kenny Wallace        Chevrolet    194
29.  Scott Gaylord        Chevrolet    193
30.  Jennifer Cobb        Dodge        193
31.  Andrew Ranger        Dodge        192
32.  Burney Lamar         Ford         192
33.  Eric McClure         Chevrolet    191
34.  Stanton Barrett      Chevrolet    167
35.  Kyle Busch           Toyota       153
36.  Bobby Hillin, Jr     Dodge         90
37.  Derrike Cope         Chevrolet     52
38.  Mark Martin          Chevrolet     43
39.  Kenny Hendrick       Chevrolet     34
40.  Kertus Davis         Chevrolet     20
41.  Steve Wallace        Chevrolet     15
42.  Justin Hobgood       Chevrolet     11
43.  Kevin Lepage         Dodge          5