Cole Custer wins NASCAR race at Kentucky Speedway
Cup rookie wins in upset in Kentucky
SPARTA, Ky. — Cole Custer saw an opening and, with help from a friend, squeezed through for the most fulfilling moment of his young racing career.
Custer became the first rookie regular to win in the NASCAR Cup Series in nearly four years, surging to the lead in a four-wide, final-lap scramble Sunday at Kentucky Speedway.
Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. were dueling side by side for the lead on the Lap 266 final restart when Custer — with a push from Matt DiBenedetto on the outside — made his move from sixth in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. As the leaders bunched in Turn 1, Custer slid ahead and outlasted Truex’s Toyota.
“I knew I just had to get to the top,” said Custer, who led twice for five laps — the first of his young career. “The top rolled pretty good and once I got past and I was like in third I was like, ‘I’ve just got to take a shot and do whatever I can here.’
“And it ended up the 4 (Harvick) and the 19 (Truex) got together a little bit and I was able to take advantage of it.”
Making his 20th series start, the 22-year-old Custer celebrated with a frontstretch burnout as his crew happily ran to greet him.
He’s the first rookie to win a non-rain-shortened race since Juan
Pablo Montoya in 2007. Brad Keselowski won a race in 2009, Trevor Bayne in 2011 and Justin Haley in 2019 while not racing full seasons. All three would have been classified as rookies had they been competing a full year. Chris Buescher won a
rain-shortened race in August 2016 while competing for rookie of the year.
Custer also won at Kentucky last July in the Xfinity Series.
Matt Kenseth’s Turn 4 spin forced the final caution and created the opportunity for Custer’s victory.
DiBenedetto was third, and Harvick fourth — both in Fords. Kurt Busch, the winner last year, was fifth.
“I got a good restart and was curious what he was going to do,” DiBenedetto said about helping Custer. “When he pulled to the top, I was like, ‘Yeah, that was a good move right there.’ And I just decided to shove him since I couldn’t go around to the outside.
“It helped him to get to the win and I joked with him that he owes me $100. But he did a great job.”
The final hundred laps created plenty of lead changes but nothing like the final 20 where Harvick, Truex, Blaney all had their shots.
Even seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson — back behind the wheel after missing last week’s race in Indianapolis following a positive coronavirus test — was running in the top three late with a chance to win. A spin into the front stretch grass on a lap 255 restart ended his quest and left his No. 48 Chevy 18th in his final Kentucky start.
Johnson’s day wasn’t a complete bust. The track named one of its entrances Jimmie Johnson Boulevard, and a banner over the infield tunnel entrance read, “Thank You, 48.”
The race’s intrigue wasn’t shocking the concerns centered around Kentucky’s first day race since Kenseth won a rain-postponed event in 2013. While it favored previous winners — including five Cup champions who combined for nine wins — the opportunity was there.
Aric Almirola made his case at the start, pushing pole-sitter Kyle Busch forward from the outside and chasing in the early laps before taking over nine laps later and threatening to run away from it. Almirola led 128 of the first 137 laps — nearly 40 more than he has led all season.
Blaney and DiBenedetto took their turns in front before Keselowski inherited it on pit road during green-flag pit cycles. That didn’t last long as Truex quickly stalked him on the last-stage restart and took over on 181 in hopes of his third Kentucky win in four years.
Truex gave it a good run against Harvick but instead settled for watching Custer take the win.
“The 41 (Custer) just came with a big head of steam and there was no way I was going to be able to block that,” Truex said. “He was just in the right place at the right time, I guess.”
Rosenqvist surges for 1st IndyCar win
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Felix Rosenqvist passed Pato O’Ward on the nextto-last lap and earned his first career victory Sunday in the second half of an IndyCar doubleheader at Road America.
Rosenqvist won by 2.8699 seconds and became the first driver other than Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon to take an IndyCar race this year. Dixon’s three-race winning streak ended with a 12th-place finish.
O’Ward and Rosenqvist were both chasing their first career victories, and they traded the lead throughout the second half of the race.
O’Ward, who had the pole position, pulled ahead in the 43rd of 55 laps. Rosenqvist gradually cut into his lead and finally passed him at Turn 7 of this 14-turn road course that’s just over 4 miles long.
Rosenqvist became the first Swede to win an IndyCar race since Kenny Brack’s 2002 victory at Mexico City. Rosenqvist had two second-place finishes last year.
Alexander Rossi, who won at Road America last year, finished third for the best result of what has been a disappointing season for the Andretti Autosport driver. Rossi ranked second in the point standings in 2018 and was third last year, but he hadn’t finished higher than 15th in any of the first three races this season.
Rosenqvist’s victory at least temporarily ended Dixon’s season-long dominance. Dixon started the year with victories at Texas and Indianapolis before winning Saturday at Road America.
This weekend’s doubleheader marked the first time spectators were allowed during this pandemic-delayed season. IndyCar organizers allowing fans on a case-by-case basis as they rely on local and state health guidelines wherever the races are held.
Hamilton wins Styrian GP
SPIELBERG, Austria — Lewis Hamilton won the Styrian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday to clinch an 85th career win and move within six of Michael Schumacher’s Formula One record.
Most of Schumacher’s wins were during a dominant spell with Ferrari, but his old team is struggling badly. For the second time in the past four races, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel crashed into each other and went out.
When Hamilton stood on the podium he raised a clenched right fist.
Hamilton’s record-extending 89th career pole on a rain-drenched track was one of his best in extreme conditions, but during the race he was hardly challenged as he finished a sizeable 13.7 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and 33.7 ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Because of social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic, the drivers on the podium had their trophies delivered by a remote controlled device.
“What a weird year but (it’s) great to be back driving with this kind of performance. The team did a fantastic job, it was just for me to bring it home,” said Hamilton, who finished fourth last week after a time penalty.