Previous to the NASCAR race Sunday (7/12) no rookie in the Cup Series had finished in the top 10 at Kentucky Speedway. That changed as a rookie won the race and two more finished in seventh and tenth.
The Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart was running basically clean through the first two stages. There was a competition caution issued on lap 27 followed by a caution when Aric Almirola won stage one of the race. Aric was the leader for all but nine laps of stage one. He also led a good portion of stage two. That gave him the most laps led in the race with a total of 128 in the 267 lap race.
Matt Kenseth brought out the next caution with a spin on the track on lap 155. When the caution waived at the end of stage two of the race it was Brad Keselowski that was the winner.
The third and final stage of the race showed that there were a few cars that had the possibility of winning the race. It also doubled the number of cautions for the race with four yellow flags in the stage to match the four total in the first two stages.
When the restart happened following the eighth and final caution period, there was a two lap sprint left to finish the race.
The battle was on when the green flag waived to restart the race. When the white flag waived to signify the last lap it was Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and rookie Cole Custer crossing under it four wide. Battling through the turn Blaney, Harvick and Trues Jr. got together door-to-door giving Cole Custer the chance to race by on the outside. Cole was able to hold the lead for the last half lap to claim his first win in NASCAR’s top division.
Martin Truex Jr. came around to finish in second place. Matt DiBenedetto claimed third place. Kevin Harvick finished in fourth place with Kurt Busch rounding out the top five. See the complete race results for the Quaker State 400 here.
Kevin Harvick remains the leader in the point standings. Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney each move up a spot to second place and third place respectively. Chase Elliott falls two spots to fourth place. Joey Logano moves up to take over fifth place. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.
Cole Custer sits in 20th place in the point standings. However, his surprising win does two big things for the NASCAR Cup Series rookie. First, he automatically gets a spot in the upcoming All-Star Race. More importantly, it locks him in the 16 driver field for the post-season with a chance to win the championship this year.
NASCAR will be back on the track in just a couple of days. This race will be for money and glory, not points. Wednesday night, July 15th will be the NASCAR Cup Series 2020 All-Star Race. This year that race will be held at Bristol Motor Speedway. That’s right, a short track, all-star battle for ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
By: Buck Stevens
