{"id":30320,"date":"2020-07-12T18:10:24","date_gmt":"2020-07-12T23:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=30320"},"modified":"2020-07-12T18:51:55","modified_gmt":"2020-07-12T23:51:55","slug":"cole-custer-wins-first-career-cup-series-race-with-thrilling-four-wide-pass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/12\/cole-custer-wins-first-career-cup-series-race-with-thrilling-four-wide-pass\/","title":{"rendered":"Cole Custer wins first career Cup Series race with thrilling four-wide pass"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Cole Custer, driver of the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway on July 12, 2020 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

B<\/em>y Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series rookie Cole Custer pulled off a daring four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap to earn the victory in Sunday\u2019s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway \u2013 the first rookie to win in NASCAR\u2019s premier series in four years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Cole Custer, driver of the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway on July 12, 2020 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Custer, who restarted fifth on a restart with two laps to go, made his way forward – daring to go high on track to the outside of a three-wide challenge for the lead among Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick. The 22-year old Custer held the high line and was able to get around the three veterans – ultimately holding off the 2017 series champion Truex \u2013 a two-time former Kentucky winner \u2013 by a mere .271-seconds to earn the victory.<\/p>\n

The Californian\u2019s five laps led Sunday (four early in the race and then the final lap) were the first laps Custer had ever led in the NASCAR Cup Series.<\/p>\n

Matt DiBenedetto, Harvick and 2019 Kentucky winner Kurt Busch finished third, fourth and fifth. Blaney, rookie Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski and rookie Tyler Reddick rounded out the Top-10. It\u2019s the first time in NASCAR history three rookies have finished in the Top-10 in a race.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Cole Custer, driver of the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway on July 12, 2020 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Rob Carr\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe were so good all day, our car was so good,” a beaming Custer said after climbing out of his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford on the front stretch and sharing hugs and high-fives with his Stewart-Haas Racing crew members.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously it wasn\u2019t the easiest track to pass on so we were kind of stuck back there, but that was the best car I\u2019ve ever driven in my life.”<\/p>\n

It was certainly a dramatic conclusion to a race that featured a dominant Almirola early on. He led a race best 128 of the 267 laps \u2013 the most laps led in a race ever for the driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. <\/p>\n

Almirola won the opening stage, ahead of Chase Elliott and Joey Logano. Keselowski won the second stage over Blaney and Custer.  Caution flags were frequent in the closing laps and the pace of the race became a lot more intense.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Cole Custer, driver of the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway on July 12, 2020 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Truex, who started last in the 38-car field after an issue in pre-race inspection, made his bold move forward in the final 100 laps. He took the lead for the first time with 94 laps remaining and his 57 laps out front were second only to Almirola as kept the field honest in the closing stage.<\/p>\n

Four cautions in the final 35 laps, however, created drama on each restart with Blaney, Truex and Harvick contending for the lead. That\u2019s exactly when Custer made his four-wide move at the end to earn the biggest win of his young life.<\/p>\n

Even more impressive is that these first-year NASCAR Cup Series drivers were able to excel with no practice or qualifying sessions \u2013 all precautions NASCAR has instituted since retuning to competition following the COVID-19 break in action.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Cole Custer, driver of the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway on July 12, 2020 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy,” Custer allowed. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to kind of adapt as much as you can. I think we\u2019ve gotten better and better at that. It\u2019s just unbelieveable. I didn\u2019t think we were coming here and going to win. And now we\u2019re gonna be in the All-Star Race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable. We had a great car all day, one of the best cars I\u2019ve ever driven in my life. It was hard to get to the front. Once we got there, we took advantage of it and I just can\u2019t thank everybody at the [Stewart-Haas Racing] shop.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the start of the year was not what we wanted,\u2019\u2019 Custer continued. \u201cWe were definitely far off at some places, but I think we\u2019re starting to put it all together and I\u2019m looking forward to it.”<\/p>\n

Although obviously, disappointed not to win, Custer\u2019s SHR teammate Harvick was quick to praise his young teammate.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Cole Custer, driver of the #41 HaasTooling.com Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway on July 12, 2020 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe were in position to win, you know,” Harvick said. \u201cMade it through turns one and two, Martin just misjudged on the backstretch and got into us and I had to check up. Next thing I know we were four wide on the front straightaway and then the 12 [Blaney) hit the drain and went back up race track.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust congratulations to Cole Custer,” Harvick said. \u201cLast week he was a big part of our win [at Indianapolis]. To get to victory lane in your rookie year is a big deal. I\u2019m really happy for Gene [Haas] and everyone at [Haas Automation] and especially for Cole. He works really hard.”<\/p>\n

Harvick holds an 88-point advantage over Keselowski in the championship standings as the series heads to Texas Motor Speedway on July 19 for the next points race. The series will compete in the exhibition All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway this Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Cole Custer – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NCS_Kentucky_Custer_071220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike Shiplett – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NCS_Kentucky_Shiplett_071220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Martin Truex Jr. – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NCS_Kentucky_Truex2_071220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Matt DiBenedetto – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NCS_Kentucky_DiBenedetto_071220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clint Bowyer – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NCS_Kentucky_Bowyer_071220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – 10th Annual Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kentucky Speedway<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sparta, Kentucky<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, July 12, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

               1. (29)  Cole Custer #, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               2. (9)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

               3. (10)  Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               4. (3)  Kevin Harvick, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               5. (7)  Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               6. (11)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               7. (34)  Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

               8. (4)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               9. (6)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               10. (24)  Tyler Reddick #, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               11. (21)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               12. (12)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

               13. (19)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               14. (15)  Clint Bowyer, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               15. (2)  Joey Logano, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

              16. (33)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               17. (23)  Ryan Newman, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               18. (20)  Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               19. (5)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               20. (13)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               21. (1)  Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

               22. (16)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

               23. (8)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               24. (30)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               25. (17)  Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               26. (37)  Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

               27. (18)  Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 265.<\/p>\n

               28. (27)  Corey LaJoie, Ford, 264.<\/p>\n

               29. (14)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 264.<\/p>\n

               30. (36)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 260.<\/p>\n

               31. (31)  Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 259.<\/p>\n

               32. (26)  Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 257.<\/p>\n

               33. (25)  Garrett Smithley(i), Chevrolet, 257.<\/p>\n

               34. (35)  Joey Gase(i), Ford, 257.<\/p>\n

               35. (28)  Quin Houff #, Chevrolet, 255.<\/p>\n

               36. (22)  John Hunter Nemechek #, Ford, Accident, 248.<\/p>\n

               37. (38)  Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Electrical, 170.<\/p>\n

               38. (32)  Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, Transmission, 159.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  133.636 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 59 Mins, 49 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .271 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  8 for 42 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  13 among 9 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   K. Busch 1-9;A. Almirola 10-137;R. Blaney 138-149;M. DiBenedetto 150;B. Keselowski 151-180;M. Truex Jr. 181-219;B. Keselowski 220-223;C. Custer # 224-227;W. Byron 228-231;M. Truex Jr. 232-248;R. Blaney 249-254;K. Harvick 255-265;M. Truex Jr. 266;C. Custer # 267.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Aric Almirola 1 time for 128 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 3 times for 57 laps; Brad Keselowski 2 times for 34 laps; Ryan Blaney 2 times for 18 laps; Kevin Harvick 1 time for 11 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 9 laps; Cole Custer # 2 times for 5 laps; William Byron 1 time for 4 laps; Matt DiBenedetto 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 10,9,22,21,12,4,88,1,14,19<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 2,12,41,22,19,88,3,48,21,20<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service NASCAR Cup Series rookie Cole Custer pulled off a daring four-wide pass for the lead on the final lap to earn the victory in Sunday\u2019s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway \u2013 the first rookie to win in NASCAR\u2019s premier series in four years. Custer, who restarted fifth on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":30330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[257,282,16],"class_list":["post-30320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-cole-custer","tag-kentucky-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NCS_Kentucky_Bat_071220-scaled-e1594597668140.jpg?fit=640%2C426&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-7T2","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30320"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30338,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30320\/revisions\/30338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}