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Edwards delays Busch's clinching

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The Associated Press

Published: November 15, 2009

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Carl Edwards rolled to a dominating win at Phoenix International Speedway that temporarily staved off Kyle Busch's bid to clinch the Nationwide title.

Busch's first NASCAR championship is still a near-certainty - he only needs to start next week's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to grab the title.

But early problems Saturday spoiled Busch's bid to get it out of the way. He spun his Toyota eight laps into the race, suffered heavy damage when he hit the wall, and had to battle to a ninth-place finish.

The race was marked by another run-in between rivals Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski during a late sequence of hard racing. Both were inside the top five when Hamlin tapped into Keselowski, who retaliated by hitting Hamlin twice. The second contact caused Hamlin to spin.

"I can sit here and bash him for the next 20 seconds or so and give you all a bunch of soundbites, but I'm just happy that I signed up for next week's Nationwide race," Hamlin said. "There's a lot of guys that owe him. There's a lot of guys that have a lot of chips that they're going to cash in. I'm just going to be the first to the pay window."

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