High School Sophomore, COLE CUSTER of Ladera Ranch CA has the pole position for the season’s opener NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at Phoenix International Raceway. The baby-faced driver turned a 27.369/131.536 mph lap on the one-mile speedway. Custer, now 16, is driving thanks to a change last year in the rules lowering the minimum starting age to 14 for NASCAR Touring Series. He, however, is not a series Rookie this year, having raced eight races in the combined 2013 K&N East and West Series. Custer had the pole for last fall’s race at PIR and finished sixth out of thirty-one drivers.
Racing runs in the Custer family. Dad, JOE CUSTER, is executive vice president of Stewart-Haas Racing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, and Cole’s No.00 BILL McANALLY Chevrolet is sponsored by Haas Automation.
Second through fifth fastest for the 75-lap race: GREG PURSLEY/No.26 Chevrolet, DAVID MAYHEW/No.17 Chevrolet, BRETT THOMPSON/No.61 Chevrolet, and GREY GAULDING/No.02 Chevrolet.
After qualifying all the K&N cars were impounded in the empty Sprint Cup garage, pending the 5pm race.
All the cars have a memoriam decal on their left rear quarter panel, honoring the late STEVE NESTROYL, a long-time member of the K&N staff of officials.
The field for Thursday night’s Talking Stick Resort 75 K&N race is twenty-nine entrants, including ten Rookies and five Canadian drivers. BRANDON McREYNOLDS, is the twenty-two year old son of former NASCAR Cup Crew Chief and current race analyst for FOX Sports, LARRY McREYNOLDS. Brandon qualified ninth. Sixteen year-old JAMES BICKFORD of Napa CA is the cousin of four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, JEFF GORDON. Bickford qualified fifteenth.
Thursday, NASCAR was one of many to comment affirmatively on the Arizona Governor’s veto of a controversial State Senate Bill. “We are pleased with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s veto of SB1062. NASCAR actively strives to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the motorsports industry. NASCAR has a zero tolerance policy against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, race, gender, national origin, age, color, disability, religion, or other factors which deny the essential humanity of all people.”