MEXICO CITY — Denny Hamlin appeared to be right at home on the curve-happy road course in Mexico's capital.

Hamlin pitted early, then stayed out of trouble Sunday to hold on and win the second NASCAR Busch Series race in Mexico. It was the first career Busch win in 39 starts for the 25-year-old Hamlin, who started second and pitted during the first caution, then outdueled pole-sitter and road course ace Boris Said by 1.53 seconds in the Telcel-Motorola 200.

"There's no other place I'd rather have it than here in Mexico," Hamlin said. "It's a race track that I was looking forward to going to from the time we were here last year. This track just fits my driving style perfectly."

Kevin Harvick, who finished second at the first Busch Series race outside the United States here a year ago, appealed a late penalty for improper passing and was able to regain third position, ahead of J.J. Yeley. Paul Menard was fifth.

Hamlin pitted early and took the lead when Said, the last car to pull off, finally left the track 20-plus laps later. Only series veteran Kyle Busch was able to catch and pass him, holding the lead for five laps until the 43rd time around the track.

Busch looked ready to grab the lead again out of a pit stop, but pushed to try and squeeze past Mexico's Michel Jourdain, causing a collision. Busch finished seventh after falling way back.

Crashes ruled Sunday, as officials called nine cautions. Hamlin said he was never threatened, however.

"Not one close call, the only one we had was when the 15 and the 5 got together and that was just a lot of smoke," he said of the crash involving Jourdain and Busch. "But we knew we had to be patient. I think Kyle was in a big hurry to get to the front, which is understandable. Once you get there, it's hard to pass."

Said climbed back into second, but his car faded a bit because of rising motor temperatures.