Hamlin edges Bowyer to win at Kansas

 A fast pit crew near the halfway point helped Denny Hamlin to victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway.

Hamlin crossed the finish line 1.407 seconds ahead of points leader Clint Bowyer to claim his fourth Nationwide victory of the season in the Kansas Lottery 300. For his part, Bowyer extended his points lead over his two closest pursuers, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski.

Hamlin started 19th and worked his way up to second behind pole sitter Kevin Harvick. When Bobby Hillin Jr. spun out on the 93rd lap, Hamlin’s crew got him out of the pits faster than Harvick, and Hamlin held the lead in 99 of the final 107 laps to win his ninth career victory in the series.

“We made adjustments on every pit stop,” Hamlin said. “We didn’t have the best car in qualifying, and we didn’t have the best car early in the race, but we just kept making it better.” Hear what else Hamlin had to say in his post-race interview.

His victory gave Joe Gibbs racing its 17th victory in 30 Nationwide races and clinched for Toyota the series manufacturer’s championship in just its second season competing in NASCAR’s top two series.

David Ragan finished third, followed by Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Keselowski. With five races left on the schedule, Bowyer leads Edwards by 196 points and Keselowski by 268.