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BRISTOL, Tenn. — Denny Hamlin would have done it. He said so without hesitation. He would have knocked teammate Kyle Busch out of the lead to win Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"For sure," Hamlin said. "He's won too much."

Imagine the forced smiles, angst and team meetings that would have followed at Joe Gibbs Racing. And the debate among fans heading into this weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway.

But Hamlin never got close enough to his teammate to even spit on Busch's rear bumper let alone kiss it. Instead, he watched as Busch celebrated his second victory of the season — and third in a row by a Busch family member. Hamlin settled for second as his winless streak nears a year.

Sunday's two-lap shootout mirrored the race. At a 160,000-seat palace built on conflict and confrontation, there was little of either.

This race was so tame that NASCAR didn't have to meet with any drivers afterward to discuss racing etiquette. Sure, Juan Pablo Montoya was warned after spinning Jamie McMurray but that was it. The one who had every right to be angry was McMurray, who was a pinball much of the race.

For what fans might be losing with this two-groove track, which leads to less bumping and banging, maybe they're gaining in other ways — appreciating true talent being rewarded.

Bristol has always been tough. The top three winners here are Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace, but the track's reputation for crashing overshadowed such accomplishments.

Busch's victory marked the fourth consecutive year he's won at Bristol in Cup, Nationwide or the truck series. His post-win bow is becoming Bristol tradition.

Again Busch dominated. He led 415 laps last fall, but Carl Edwards bumped him out of the lead late to win. Busch was second that day. Sunday, Busch led 378 of 503 laps. Thus, he's led nearly 80 percent of the laps run in the last two Cup races at this track.

Third-place finisher Jimmie Johnson even enjoyed watching Busch's performance.

"To be that close to a win and to see (Busch) pull into victory lane, I can now see what the leaders do," said Johnson after he tied his career-best finish at one of the few tracks that have befuddled him. "I can visualize being in that position someday, where before we were so far off."

No matter how good Busch is, he needs help. He should have won Saturday's Nationwide race, but a tire rolled away on a late pit stop and the penalty dropped him too far back in the pack to contend. He climbed from his car, tossed his HANS device to the ground and walked out of the track.

Sunday, some of those same pit crew members who let him down played a key role in his win but it still wasn't easy. Busch fell from second to third after the leaders pitted about 180 laps from the end.

"I told the ladies to man up," Busch said afterward, referring to his pit crew.

Busch's frank style might not work for everyone but crew chief Steve Addington said his crew can handle it.

"You have to have tough skin in this business or you need to be doing something else," Addington said. "I know that he's out there trying to win. And he just wants us to be that way. That's the way we all look at it."

Busch's pit crew helped him keep the lead on his final pit stop with 59 laps left. Both Hamlin and Johnson said that was critical because the lead car could run away from the pack. Busch's car also proved too strong on restarts.

"He's got that raw speed that I just don't have for 20 laps, and it pays big dividends to that race team,'' Hamlin said of Busch. "He's got a solid pit crew. He's got everything working for him right now. Luckily, we're in the same stable, so we know everything he has. If anything we need to work on, it's me.''

Hamlin doesn't have too far to go. Just a few more feet to get to Busch's rear bumper.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com