Kenseth wins Homestead, Elliott crowned Nationwide Champion

HOMESTEAD, FL - Matt Kenseth took home the winners trophy in the NASCAR Nationwide Series season finale on Saturday, holding off Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson for the victory while 18-year-old rookie Chase Elliott was officially crowned as the 2014 series champion in the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.<br /> <br /> Kenseth got around Larson on the first lap of a three-lap green-white-checker shootout and then pulled away as Busch and Larson duked it out for second place with Busch taking the runner-up spot over Larson. Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five.<br /> <br /> Kenseth's victory was his 29th-career NASCAR Nationwide Series win and his first in 16 starts this season.<br /> <br /> "It's been a long time since I won a race in anything," said Kenseth. "Kyle (Larson) got around me on that second-to-last restart, but when he chose the bottom there and I had Kyle (Busch) behind me, I knew that we had a shot."<br /> <br /> "Really happy for Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) and this whole group behind me. They've worked really hard on this thing the last few years and haven't gotten as many wins as we'd like to have. I was glad to send them off on a winning note here."<br /> <br /> Saturday's race was not only the season finale, but also the final race for title sponsor Nationwide Insurance. Comcast will take over as series sponsor in 2015 under their XFINITY brand.<br /> <br /> Elliott, who clinched the championship following last weekend's race at Phoenix, finished 17th after hitting the wall late in the race but finally got to hoist the championship trophy as the youngest champion in the history of NASCAR's three major touring series as well as the fifth father-son champion in NASCAR, joined by his father and 1988 Cup Champion, Bill Elliott.<br /> <br /> "It's just been a very, very fun road," said Elliott. "I feel like I've had the absolute best possible people there, too, and I feel like all these people along the way have made me look a heck of a lot better than I really am, and they're the reason we're up there tonight. It's been an honor to work with these guys, and not just this year, but all along the way. It's been fun.<br /> <br /> "Had I not put her in the fence there on the racetrack and during my burnout, it would have been a pretty perfect night."<br /> <br /> Despite the championship having already been decided, Saturday's race was anything but anti-climatic, with the battle for the win coming right down to the wire.<br /> <br /> Larson had dominated the race from the outset, first grabbing the lead from pole sitter Brad Keselowski on lap six and going on to lead 106 of the first 144 laps.<br /> <br /> Kenseth took over the top spot following a round of yellow-flag stops on lap 147 and took over the race, opening up a half-straightaway lead as Larson had his hands full battling Busch and Keselowski for second.<br /> <br /> A late caution flag with five laps to go gave Larson one more shot at Kenseth and he made it stick