Matt Kenseth wins NASCAR Nationwide Series finale

Homestead, Fla. — Matt Kenseth got the jump on the final restart in overtime to earn his first win of the season in any NASCAR series during the Nationwide Series season finale Saturday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It was the final race for NASCAR’s second-tier series under the Nationwide banner. It will be renamed the Xfinity Series next season.

Kyle Busch was second, Kyle Larson third, Ryan Blaney fourth and Chris Buescher fifth.

Roger Penske made it 2 for 2 in championships this season, clinching the Nationwide owner’s title. Team Penske won the IndyCar championship with Will Power in September, and a victory by Joey Logano in Sunday’s season finale would make Penske the only team owner to complete the sweep of major American racing titles.

Chase Elliott finally got to celebrate his championship after he finished 17th.

Elliott became the youngest champion in NASCAR history last week when he wrapped up the title at Phoenix International Raceway. All that was missing was the trophy presentation in Victory Lane that he got at Homestead.

Elliott made his biggest mistake of the season when he smacked the wall late in the race making a hard push for a top-10 finish. He couldn’t take the checkered flag — but he came away with a pretty nice consolation prize on the night.

He grabbed the championship flag and kicked up a cloud of yellow smoke off a burnout on the painted grass.

The first-time champ needs to work on his celebrations — he smacked the wall during the burnout, bringing a smile from team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.