(Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Cole Custer roared to his first Cup Series victory Sunday afternoon at Kentucky Speedway, emerging from a late-race restart with a bold four-wide move just after the white flag.
Driving the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Ford, Custer led just five of the 267 laps in the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart. The first-year driver also won at the 1.5-mile Kentucky track in Xfinity Series competition last year.
Martin Truex Jr. wound up second, .271 seconds behind at the checkered flag. Matt DiBenedetto netted third place with a tire-smoking Kevin Harvick fourth and Kurt Busch fifth.
Aric Almirola led the most laps — a career-best 128 — and won Stage 1. He faded to an eighth-place result, snapping a streak of five consecutive top-five finishes. Brad Keselowski won Stage 2, leading 34 laps before coming home ninth.
Jimmie Johnson finished 18th in his first race back since he reported a positive COVID-19 test that kept him out of the series’ previous race, July 5 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Johnson continued after a late brush of the outside retaining wall with his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
The Cup Series’ next event is the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race, scheduled Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM). The NASCAR All-Star Open qualifier is set earlier Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) to round out the invitational field. The next points-paying race for the Cup Series is scheduled next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) at Texas Motor Speedway.
- NASCAR -
Results
|
#
|
Car
|
Driver
|
Schemes
|
|
1
|
41
|
Cole Custer
|
HaasTooling.com
|
|
2
|
19
|
Martin Truex, Jr.
|
Auto Owners Insurance
|
|
3
|
21
|
Matt DiBenedetto
|
Menards / Quaker State
|
|
4
|
4
|
Kevin Harvick
|
Hunt Brothers Pizza
|
|
5
|
1
|
Kurt Busch
|
Monster Energy
|
|
6
|
12
|
Ryan Blaney
|
Advance Auto Parts
|
|
7
|
95
|
Christopher Bell
|
Toyota
|
|
8
|
10
|
Aric Almirola
|
Smithfield "Vote For Bacon"
|
|
9
|
2
|
Brad Keselowski
|
Snap-On
|
|
10
|
8
|
Tyler Reddick
|
Caterpillar
|
|
11
|
24
|
William Byron
|
Axalta
|
|
12
|
11
|
Denny Hamlin
|
FedEx Freight
|
|
13
|
3
|
Austin Dillon
|
Rig Up
|
|
14
|
14
|
Clint Bowyer
|
One Cure
|
|
15
|
22
|
Joey Logano
|
Shell / Pennzoil
|
|
16
|
13
|
Ty Dillon
|
GEICO
|
|
17
|
6
|
Ryan Newman
|
Acronis
|
|
18
|
48
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
Ally
|
|
19
|
88
|
Alex Bowman
|
Cincinnati
|
|
20
|
17
|
Chris Buescher
|
Fifth Third Bank
|
|
21
|
18
|
Kyle Busch
|
M&M's Fudge Brownie
|
|
22
|
20
|
Erik Jones
|
Built In Kentucky
|
|
23
|
9
|
Chase Elliott
|
Kelley Blue Book
|
|
24
|
34
|
Michael McDowell
|
Love's Travel Stops
|
|
25
|
42
|
Matt Kenseth
|
Clover
|
|
26
|
96
|
Daniel Suarez
|
Toyota Certified Used Vehicles
|
|
27
|
43
|
Bubba Wallace
|
Victory Junction
|
|
28
|
32
|
Corey LaJoie
|
Keen Parts
|
|
29
|
47
|
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
|
Kroger
|
|
30
|
27
|
J.J. Yeley
|
|
|
31
|
15
|
Brennan Poole
|
|
|
32
|
77
|
Josh Bilicki
|
Austin Hatcher Foundation
|
|
33
|
53
|
Garrett Smithley
|
|
|
34
|
51
|
Joey Gase
|
|
|
35
|
00
|
Quin Houff
|
Creek Enterprise
|
|
36
|
38
|
John Hunter Nemechek
|
Yanmar
|
|
37
|
66
|
Timmy Hill
|
RoofClaim.com
|
|
38
|
37
|
Ryan Preece
|
Kingsford
|
|
39
|
41
|
Cole Custer
|
HaasTooling.com
|
|
40
|
19
|
Martin Truex, Jr.
|
Auto Owners Insurance
|
|
