Cole Custer made it look easy.
Sixteen-year-old Custer, of Ladera Ranch, Calif., won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East’s Blue Ox 100 on Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. He passed teammate and pole sitter Nick Drake on Lap 49 and led the rest of the way to collect his third series win in 16 starts. A pair of wins last season came at Iowa Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 00 NAPA Auto Parts / Haas Automation Chevrolet also collected his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series West win in the 2014 season opener at Phoenix International Raceway in February.
Points leader Ben Rhodes finished second for his fourth top-five showing in five outings this season. Drake, who won his first series career pole award in qualifying Friday, battled to finish third. Austin Hill crossed the line in fourth followed by Ronnie Bassett Jr. in fifth.
Cameron Hayley, Brandon Jones, Brodie Kostecki, Jeremy Burns and Jesse Little rounded out the top-10 finishers on the day.
Custer, along with Rhodes, Hill and Little, were introduced as 2014-15 members of the NASCAR Next class Friday. NASCAR Next is a program that spotlights the sport’s emerging stars.
In the standings, Rhodes leads Gaulding by 18 points followed by Hayley, Daniel Suárez and Little.
The race was originally scheduled to be run following the NASCAR Nationwide Series event on Friday, but a three-hour rain delay in getting that race underway pushed the Blue Ox 100 to Saturday morning.
The Blue Ox 100 will be telecast by FOX Sports 1 on Friday, May 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East is back in action next on Saturday, May 17 for the Casey’s General Stores 150 at Iowa Speedway in Newton.
NASCAR PR
