SPARTA, Ky. — Cole Custer became the first rookie winner 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 265 final restart when Custer—with a push from Matt DiBenedetto on the outside in the backstretch—made his move 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.