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Cole Custer Grabs Maiden NASCAR Cup Win After Going From Sixth to First Place in Two Laps

Published 07/13/2020, 9:42 AM EDT

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On Sunday, Cole Custer roared to victory during the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Kentucky Speedway. Initially, it looked like teammate Kevin Harvick would snatch an easy win, but the rookie had other ideas. In a daring move, Custer managed to pull off an epic 4-wide move.

As it turns out, this win is special for Custer because it is his first Cup Series victory and the first time a rookie won a race. The 22-year old confessed that he never expected his team to end up in victory lane.

When he spoke to NASCAR in a press conference, he said, “You just got to keep the momentum up, you got to try and make three-wide moves.

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“Overall its a combination of everything that you’ve learned throughout your career, trying to time your restarts and get momentum.”

He added, “Once you’re upfront, you got to take advantage of it. It’s unbelievable. I just came into this race hoping to get a solid finish. To come out of it winning is just unimaginable.”

How did Cole Custer win at Kentucky?

Following the final caution, there were just two laps remaining and it was Kevin Harvick’s race to lose. Meanwhile, Cole Custer was running in 6th place and preparing for the drive of his life.

Harvick and Martin Truex Jr traded the lead between themselves for a while.

However, Ryan Blaney and Custer were not about to be left out of the fun. The quartet went four-wide for the lead before Custer managed to sneak ahead.

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As Harvick and Truex Jr. went side-by-side, Blaney stuck his car down the inside, while Custer took the outside lane. So, by the penultimate lap, they were four-wide and wheel-to-wheel.

It got worse for Harvick, as he appeared to clip Blaney and Truex, while Custer escaped unscathed to take the lead. Eventually, the 22-year old took the chequered flag ahead of Truex Jr, Matt DiBenedetto, Harvick, and Kurt Busch.

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Blaney, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, and Tyler Reddick completed the top 10.

Watch: Kevin Harvick Climbs the Indianapolis Fences as Stewart-Haas Racing Leads the Cup Table

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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