QUALIFYING: Custer Captures NHMS Pole
Second Award Of Season For K&N Pro Series East Rookie
LOUDON, N.H. – On the biggest stages, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East rookie Cole Custer is at his best.
A 15-year-old from Ladera Ranch, Calif., Custer captured his second 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Brewing Friday afternoon in qualifying for the North American Power 100. The race is scheduled for Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway at 2:30 p.m..
Following up on his performance in morning practice where he led the 30-car field, Custer once again stood alone in afternoon qualifying with a best lap of 29.659 seconds (128.420 mph) behind the wheel of the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet.
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Custer will joined on the front row Saturday by K&N Pro Series East championship points leader Dylan Kwasniewski, who turned in a fast lap of 29.721 (128.152). Daniel Suárez qualified third-fastest at 29.932 (127.248).
Cale Conley, Mackena Bell, Jesse Little, Eddie MacDonald, Brett Moffitt, Gray Gaulding and Dylan Presnell rounded out Friday’s top 10 qualifiers.
Friday’s performance continues a season-long trend for Custer, who’s excelled at the bigger tracks. Custer earned his first pole at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 2 in an event where he led all 150 laps en route to the first victory of his young career. In 11 previous starts, three of his four top-10 finishes have come at national series tracks. He led 24 laps at Richmond International Raceway and was also a top-five finisher in the first Iowa race in June.
Kwasniewski enters New Hampshire with a 40-point advantage on Moffitt. Moffitt won at NHMS in 2011 and has three runner-up finishes at the 1.058-mile oval during his career while Kwasniewski made his track debut with a fourth-place effort in 2012.
The North American Power 100 will be the 12th of 14 races on the 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule.
QUALIFYING RESULTS | AUDIO: Post-Qualifying Press Conference
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR PR
NKNPS East NHMS 9/21/13 Qualifying
Pos No. Name Sponsor Time Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 00 Cole Custer * Haas Automation Chevrolet 29.7 128.4 1 2
2 98 Dylan Kwasniewski Royal Purple/Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet 29.7 128.2 1 2 0.062
3 6 Daniel Suárez Visit Acapulco Toyota 29.9 127.2 1 2 0.273
4 47 Cale Conley PMC Toyota 29.9 127.2 2 2 0.289
5 21 Mackena Bell * Toyota Racing Development Toyota 30.0 127.1 2 2 0.317
6 97 Jesse Little * NASCAR Technical Inst./Jean Savers Chevrolet 30.0 127.0 1 2 0.335
7 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Const./National MS Society Chevrolet 30.0 126.9 1 2 0.350
8 11 Brett Moffitt NRC/NISCO Toyota 30.0 126.9 1 2 0.353
9 20 Gray Gaulding * Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Toyota 30.0 126.8 1 2 0.382
10 26 Dylan Presnell Amtrol/American Mountain Rentals Chevrolet 30.1 126.6 2 2 0.419
11 89 Matt Tifft * DOC 360 Chevrolet 30.2 126.1 1 2 0.551
12 5 Brandon Watson * Royal Distributing/Shear Metal Chevrolet 30.2 126.0 1 2 0.565
13 41 Ben Rhodes * Alpha Industries Chevrolet 30.2 126.0 2 2 0.574
14 04 Ronnie Bassett, Jr. * Jerry Hunt Auto Sales/Rheem Toyota 30.3 125.7 2 2 0.641
15 96 Ben Kennedy Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet 30.3 125.7 1 1 0.644
16 77 Austin Wayne Self * AM Technical Solutions Dodge 30.3 125.6 1 2 0.657
17 99 Austin Dyne KMC Wheels Chevrolet 30.3 125.5 1 2 0.686
18 33 Brandon Jones * Rheem Chevrolet 30.4 125.5 2 2 0.702
19 72 Scott Heckert * Project Lifesaver Chevrolet 30.6 124.5 2 2 0.930
20 1 Johnny VanDoorn * Karl Performance Chevrolet 30.6 124.5 2 2 0.931
21 34 Kenzie Ruston * AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet 30.6 124.4 1 2 0.958
22 4 Bryan Ortiz Rev Racing Toyota 30.7 124.1 1 2 1.024
23 2 Ryan Gifford Universal Technical Institute/NTI Toyota 30.7 124.0 1 1 1.053
24 46 Brandon Gdovic WindStax.com/Aquis Communications Toyota 30.8 123.8 1 2 1.109
25 63 John Salemi Envirotek Toyota 30.8 123.5 2 2 1.175
26 0 Rafael Vallina * Jarritos Mineragua Toyota 30.9 123.4 1 2 1.197
27 15 Trey Hutchens * MilitaryWarriors.org/Impact Gel Chevrolet 30.9 123.4 2 2 1.218
28 37 Clay Campbell Legend Gear & Trans/Spraker Racing Chevrolet 30.9 123.1 2 2 1.271
29 39 Cory Joyce * Caplin Family Charities Chevrolet 30.9 123.1 1 2 1.284
30 44 Akinori Ogata * Enos Motor Oil Toyota 31.2 122.1 1 2 1.534
*Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender