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A Track Record Run For Brittany Force In Indy

Published in Racing
Saturday, 31 August 2019 17:13

INDIANAPOLIS – Brittany Force’s weekend at the 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals keeps getting better, as she broke the Top Fuel track record on Saturday at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis to stay in the provisional No. 1 spot.

Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the final regular-season race of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Force put down an impressive blast of 3.645 seconds at 332.26 mph to set the track record in her Advance Auto Parts dragster and remain in the top spot in what is already the quickest qualifying field in Top Fuel history. The 2017 world champion is chasing her first Indy win and stays in line to claim her sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 16th overall.

The Torrence family is close behind, as Billy Torrence moved to second after his pass of 3.655 seconds at a track speed record of 333.33 mph, while his son, Steve, the defending world champ and points leader, is third.

“They’ve all felt fast this weekend and consistency is really what we’ve been looking for,” said Force, who has one win in 2019. “That’s the main thing we’ve been struggling with and to put a number like that on the board, that was pretty awesome. I was pumped when they told me what we ran. I knew we were going to push again, but I didn’t know conditions were going to be better. We stepped it up and got around everybody. It’s the biggest race of the season and it’s Indy, and everything is kind of falling together at the right time.”

Funny Car’s Beckman stayed in the No. 1 position, improving on his performance from Friday with a run of 3.861 seconds at 330.07 mph in his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Beckman, who is after his first win of the year, is closing in on first No. 1 qualifier this year and 25th in his career. Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan made a huge leap in the final qualifying session, jumping from 13th to second. John Force is currently qualified third.

Bo Butner on his way to the No. 1 spot in Pro Stock at Lucas Oil Raceway. (Kent Steele Photo)

In Pro Stock, points leader Butner moved into the top spot in his Jim Butner Auto Group Camaro after going 6.559 seconds at 210.28 mph. He is trying for his third No. 1 qualifier this year and 11th in his career. Butner is also after his first Pro Stock win at Indy, looking to become the sixth straight first-time winner in the class at the prestigious race. Butner’s KB Racing teammate, Jason Line, improved on his top time from Friday but now sits in second. Erica Enders is a spot back in third.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Sampey jumped into the No. 1 position with a 6.816-second pass at 195.53 mph on her Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson FXDR. If it holds, it would be Sampey’s first No. 1 qualifier since 2016 and 50th in her career. The run also helped Sampey’s playoff chances, as the three-time world champion and two-time Indy winner came into the weekend ninth in points. Defending world champion Matt Smith also made a big move on Saturday into second. Points leader Andrew Hines follows in third.

Serra & Vilander Score For Ferrari At The Glen

Published in Racing
Saturday, 31 August 2019 18:11

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Ferrari drivers Daniel Serra and Toni Vilander scored the overall Blancpain GT World Challenge America victory Saturday at Watkins Glen Int’l.

The 51-lap, 90-minute race presented by CrowdStrike also featured wins in the Pro/Am category by Acura drivers Mike Hedlund and Dane Cameron, and in the Am category with Ferrari drivers Mark Issa and Martin Fuentes.

Polesitter Alvaro Parente, in the K-PAX Racing No. 9 Bentley Continental GT3 assumed the lead through turn one ahead of Serra, behind the wheel of the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3. Brazilian Rodrigo Baptista, who started third, slotted in behind Serra. American Patrick Long went from sixth to fourth on the opening lap.

Hedlund, who started eighth overall and second in Pro/Am, moved into the Pro/Am lead around Wright Motorsports driver American Anthony Imperato in the No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R, while American Christopher Gagnazzi slotted into 10th overall and first in the Am category.

Through lap 10 the leaders continued to hold their positions with Parente building a four car length lead over Serra. On lap 11, Am leader Cagnazzi spun through turn nine and before he could gather up his No. 19 machine and return to the track Issa, in the No. 7 Squadra Corse Ferrari 488 GT3, moved into the lead in class.

Through laps 15 to 18, Parente gradually increased his lead over Serra to 3.1 seconds before the pit window opened with just over 48 minutes remaining in the contest. Drama ensued as the leaders entered pit road for the driver changeover. Parente was slowed coming into the pits by another competitor allowing Serra to remove the gap gained on the track. The R. Ferri team was then able to execute a seamless pit stop and Vilander, who took over from Serra, exited the pits ahead of Andy Soucek who assumed the reins from Parente.

With the pit window closed and driver changes completed, Vilander held his lead over Soucek, with Soulet, who took over for Baptista, in third and Scott Hargrove, who took over for Long, in fourth. In Pro/Am, Cameron, who took over for Hedlund, slotted into seventh overall and first in the Pro/Am class, while Fuentes assumed the reins from Issa in 10th overall and first in Am.

The leaders all held their positions to the checkered – Vilander won by 2.8 seconds over Soucek. In Pro/Am, Cameron won over Olsen, who had taken over for Imperato, while Fuentes won over Japan’s Takuya Shirasaka.

“It’s my first time here (at Watkins Glen) so my race went amazing,” said Issa. “I always say to win you have to be present so at the end of the day while I lost a little (time through) the bus stop (section of the track) I just thought about keeping consistent laps and remaining focused.”

“Starting in second wasn’t optimal, but it was a solid qualifying and I know we had a solid race pace after running the car yesterday,” said Hedlund. “My main goal was to start clean and I didn’t want to get us in trouble early, so I took the outside and was able to get around (Imperato) to take the lead. The RealTime guys did a perfect job on the pit stop and we had a clean driver change plus the lead.”

“This is my first time in this championship and it’s probably the only race this year (for me) as Miguel (Molina) is coming back to race with Toni so I’m happy that I could help him win this race and extend the championship lead,” said Serra. “The team did an amazing job on the pit stop, we were able to overtake Parente, we were a bit lucky with some traffic. The team did an amazing job and I feel good to come here and help.”

Herta Steals The Show In Portland Qualifying

Published in Racing
Saturday, 31 August 2019 18:20

PORTLAND, Ore. – Even Colton Herta has to admit, it’s all adding up to a perfect weekend for the 19-year-old NTT IndyCar Series rookie at Portland Int’l Raceway.

He was the fastest driver in every practice session and he carried that momentum into qualifying, winning the second pole of his young career Saturday afternoon.

The son of retired IndyCar Series driver Bryan Herta was the fastest driver in Saturday’s Fast Six with a best lap of 57.8111 seconds for a speed of 122.302 mph in the No. 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda.

“I think so, so far,” Herta said when asked if it’s a perfect weekend. “I don’t want to call it that yet, though.”

It was a very competitive Fast Six, with the separation from first to third .0244-of-a-second.

Team Penske’s Will Power was second at 57.8303 seconds (122.261 mph) in the No. 12 Chevrolet. Five-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon was third at 57.8355 (122.250 mph) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.

“Yeah, that was crazy,” Herta said. “Yeah, it was crazy how close the field is here. It always seems to be that way. I didn’t really expect to have the lap, one lap on used Reds, but the grip was kind of in right away, so it was all good.

“I knew it was close. I knew I was third before I hit the timing line. We went with an off-the-wall strategy with the new Blacks instead of the used Reds, and it ended up being pretty close in the end to what was right and what was wrong.”

Herta scored his first victory at Circuit of the Americas in the March 24 IndyCar Classic. He’s hoping for a repeat performance this weekend in Portland.

“COTA was weird, though, because I don’t think we were as dominant as this weekend,” Herta recalled. “I think we were close to the top. I led the first practice session at COTA. That’s the only practice session I led, and I qualified fourth.

“I think it’s something about these permanent road courses that just kind of gels with my driving style, and yeah, I don’t know why, but it’s just when I’m at my best.”

It was Herta’s second NTT IndyCar Series pole. His first pole came at Road America in June.

“I’m super excited, super honored,” Herta said. “I think I’m happy right now, but I know that the real task kind of starts tomorrow.

“It’s 105 laps, going to be difficult, and we’ve got the best starting spot and the best view going into turn one.”

Part-time driver Jack Harvey was fourth at 58.1008 seconds (121.692 mph) in a Honda, followed by rookie driver Felix Rosenqvist’s Honda at 58.1620 seconds (121.564 mph).

Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2012 NTT IndyCar Series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner, rounded out the Fast Six at 58.1823 seconds (121.521 mph).

Alexander Rossi, who is third in NTT IndyCar Series points, 46 behind Josef Newgarden, qualified seventh at 57.8864 seconds (122.143 mph).

Points leader Newgarden and his closest pursuer, Simon Pagenaud, both failed to advance out of the first round of qualifying. Newgarden starts 13th after running a best lap at 57.9585 seconds (121.991 mph) and Pagenaud starts 18th after a lap at 57.9479 seconds (122.013 mph).

Both drivers said they just didn’t put together the right lap at the right time.

That honor sent to the pole winner.

“I knew it was definitely possible,” Herta said. “I knew we had a good chance at it, as long as we did what we were supposed to do. And everyone stayed focused and we had a good race car. We didn’t make that big of changes from practice 3 to qualifying, and the changes that we did make helped the car.

“It was very strange how the grip level came and went. I think group 1 and group 2 were pretty close on grip level, and then in the second round for some reason I think the grip level went away and everybody kind of went a little slower except for Will Power.

“They came on the radio and I heard everybody was super loud, so I just thought at that point we had to have had pole. I would have been disappointed if I pulled in and they told me third after hearing everybody cheering.”

Bonsignore Triumphs At The Steel Palace

Published in Racing
Saturday, 31 August 2019 18:49

OSWEGO, N.Y. — Justin Bonsignore knew it was going to take a few checkered flags if he wanted to climb his way back into the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship battle.

With five races to go, Bonsignore proved on Saturday that he isn’t out of it yet. He scored his fourth victory of the season in the Toyota Mod Classic 150 presented by McDonald’s at Oswego Speedway, earning the victory as part of the track’s annual Classic Weekend.

It was the 24th career win in Whelen Modified Tour competition for Bonsignore and his first at the Steel Palace of Oswego.

“It’s unbelievable. There is a lot of history at this track,” he said. “I’ve wanted to win here every time we have come here.”

Bonsignore might not have posted the fastest lap times all day, but, when it mattered, his car shined. For the first 64 laps, he chased the back bumper of Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole winner Rob Summers in the race for the lead. He passed Summers at lap 65, and led through until a caution at lap 99, when Tyler Rypkema spun.

Then, his Phoenix Communications crew went to work. They got him out at the front of the cars that pitted and took fresh tires, but, he had to restart third, behind Patrick Emerling and Tommy Catalano.

It didn’t take him long to get back to the top spot. Before the field exited turn two, he was the leader once again.

Bonsignore had to hold off defending race winner Matt Hirschman on a final dash to the finish, but was able to accomplish the task. While the No. 51 Phoenix Communications Chevrolet struggled to turn through the center of the corners, Bonsignore was able to make it work.

He beat Hirschman to the line by .146 seconds. Following Hirschman, former Whelen Modified Tour champion Ron Silk was third, with Craig Lutz and Bobby Santos III completing the top five.

The finish:

Justin Bonsignore, Matt Hirschman, Ron Silk, Craig Lutz, Bobby Santos III, Doug Coby, Eric Goodale, Timmy Solomito, Chase Dowling, Tommy Catalano, Rob Summers, Chris Pasteryak, Chuck Hossfeld, Patrick Emerling, Sam Rameau, Gary Putnam, Amy Catalano, Kyle Ebersole, Blake Barney, Tyler Rypkema, J.B. Fortin, Walter Sutcliffe Jr., Wade Cole, Calvin Carroll, Matt Swanson, Melissa Fifield, Timmy Catalano.

Power Outage Postpones Battle At The Border

Published in Racing
Saturday, 31 August 2019 19:01

HARTFORD, Ohio – An area-wide power outage in the Hartford, Ohio, area has forced World of Outlaws and Sharon Speedway officials to postpone night two of the Battle at the Border until Sunday evening.

A fallen tree close to the track disabled local power lines during Drydene Heat No. 3, putting a halt to Saturday night’s racing action.

Sunday’s program will resume with Hot Laps at 6:30 p.m. followed by the restart of Drydene Heat Race No. 3. Gates will open at 5 p.m, rain checks for ticket holders will be honored.

NEW YORK -- In the most buzzed-about matchup thus far at the US Open, defending champion and world No. 1 Naomi Osaka took on 15-year-old tennis prodigy Coco Gauff in a third-round clash Saturday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was the first meeting between the two, and while it wasn't exactly the best match, it set the scene for what could be a tremendous rivalry and friendship for years to come.

With Rod Laver, Gayle King, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks among the notable fans in attendance, Osaka reminded the crowd why she's the top-ranked player and a two-time Grand Slam champion, winning 6-3, 6-0 in just over an hour. (Watch replay of the match here.)

Osaka will next face Belinda Bencic, who advanced via walkover, in the fourth round on Monday (full coverage on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN App). Before we start thinking about that match, let's look at the biggest takeaways from Saturday night's win.

The crowd

There are loud, enthusiastic crowds and then there's the one that showed up on Saturday night. It seemed like virtually every one of the 23,771 seats were filled, and to say they were into the action on the court would be an understatement.

As of Saturday morning, there wasn't a ticket on the secondary market for the night session for less than $199. It was an excited audience, and it seemed they were largely behind Gauff -- roars were heard every time she earned a point or closed out a game. When she won her first game of the night,the stadium erupted into "Let's go, Coco, let's go!"

While it was clear the collective loyalties lied with the young American, the fans were encouraging of Osaka as well and gave her a loud ovation at the end. It will be hard to imagine she won't be the crowd favorite for every match she plays at the tournament going forward.

After the match, Osaka remarked on the atmosphere: "The energy tonight was crazy," she said before laughing. "Even though it wasn't for me."

The fatigue

Gauff has had some tough (and impressive) matches this week. Unfortunately for her, it showed on Saturday. In addition to two hard-fought three-set singles matches, she is also is playing doubles with fellow American teen Caty McNally, and the two played their opener in the peak of the 88-degree afternoon heat on Friday.

Simply put, Gauff had logged a lot more minutes than Osaka entering Saturday's clash. The 15-year-old spent 351 minutes -- or just under six hours -- on court this week compared to just 219 for the 21-year-old Osaka in two matches.

Gauff is accustomed to playing daily matches on the junior level but not against this level of competition, and certainly not against the No. 1 player in the world. In the second set in particular, she seemed to have few answers against Osaka and couldn't keep up at times.

The nerves

play
2:37

Osaka and Coco give emotional joint postmatch interview

Naomi Osaka encourages Coco Gauff to join her postmatch interview and both are emotional.

Gauff played on Centre Court at Wimbledon earlier this summer, but she had never played on Arthur Ashe before. There is likely nothing in the sport that can quite prepare you for the size, scope and noise of that ocurt. It is the biggest tennis stadium in the world, after all.

McNally, Gauff's friend and doubles partner, said Ashe was "the most insane atmosphere" she had ever played on after her second-round match against Serena Williams, and Gauff would likely agree.

The rising American star notched 18 double faults in her previous two singles matches -- the third-most among the women in the tournament -- she added another seven in the third round. For comparison, Osaka had just one in the match. Gauff was only able to win two of five break points, where Osaka took six of seven.

The two players entered the clash with similar numbers in regards to their strong serves -- Osaka had 10 aces in her first two matches, compared to Gauff's nine. Both have blistering fast serve speeds -- Gauff came in with the fifth-best mark on the tournament at 118 miles per hour, and Osaka not far behind with a 116. While Gauff had the fastest mark of the night at 119, it was Osaka that had five aces (versus just one for Gauff). Osaka had a 73 percent win percentage on her first serve, compared to an uncharacteristically low 43 percent for Gauff.

The sportsmanship (for the win!)

After all the hype, the match wasn't all that compelling. What everyone will remember for YEARS to come was the incredible display of sportsmanship after the match. Gauff walked to her chair immediately following the loss, clearly about to cry, when Osaka walked over and gave her a huge hug and told her how well she played and understood what she was feeling. She then asked her to do the on-court interview with her, and it was one of the more heartwarming things you'll ever see in sports as they traded compliments and shed more than a few tears.

In a decade when these two are battling for their latest Grand Slam title, we'll still be watching this clip in adoration.

Zobrist added to Cubs roster for stretch run

Published in Baseball
Saturday, 31 August 2019 19:56

CHICAGO -- The Cubs have activated Ben Zobrist from the restricted list to help with their postseason push.

Zobrist, 38, has been out since May 8 while going through a divorce. The 2016 World Series MVP is batting .241 with 10 RBIs in 26 games this year.

Infielder David Bote was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Saturday night. Outfielder Mark Zagunis was designated for assignment to create a spot on the 40-man roster.

Zobrist is a .266 career hitter with 166 homers and 761 RBIs in 1,630 games. He won the World Series in 2015 with Kansas City and 2016 with Chicago. He played 12 minor league rehab games, hitting .189 with two homers across four levels.

Twins break MLB record with 268th HR of season

Published in Baseball
Saturday, 31 August 2019 19:17

The Minnesota Twins broke the major league record by hitting their 268th home run of the 2019 season.

The Twins hit six home runs in Saturday night's 10-7 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mitch Garver, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, C.J. Cron and Nelson Cruz all hit home runs, with Cruz's 450-foot blast to center in the top of the eighth inning tying the record. Garver hit the record-setting homer in the top of the ninth, his second of the game.

The New York Yankees had set the record last season when they hit 267 home runs.

Polanco's home run was his 20th of the season, setting another record for the Twins. Minnesota now has eight players with 20-plus home runs this season, the most by any team in major league history. The Twins also matched the 2000 Houston Astros' MLB record of five games with six or more home runs in a season.

Saturday's game marked Minnesota's 11th this season with five or more home runs, extending their major league record, but it's the first time in franchise history the Twins have loss such a game. They had been 49-0 in such games entering Saturday.

ESPN's Stats & Information contributed to this report.

Jared Mees Continues Mile Mastery

Published in Racing
Saturday, 31 August 2019 15:35

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Defending AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines champion Jared Mees made it three for three on the Miles in American Flat Track competition this year with a last-corner victory in Saturday’s Springfield Mile I.

Mees and 2018 Springfield Mile I winner Jeffrey Carver Jr. transformed the race into a two-rider duel for the win from the start. The pair immediately broke free from the pack, and subsequently waged a 25-mile test of skill and tactics.

Carver seemed content to plant himself on the rear wheel of Mees over the opening half of the AFT Twins Main Event. However, the home-state hero brought the fans lining the grandstands to their feet by driving underneath the defending champ on lap 13.

Mees regrouped and reassumed his position at the front in short order. Carver made two more attempts to wrestle away the lead, and it appeared he finally succeeded for good when he powered by with three laps remaining. However, Mees ducked under Carver entering turn three on the final lap, only to see Carver slide back up the inside as the worked through turn four.

Mees was ready for the move, and perfectly positioned himself for the decisive sprint to the flag; he stole the advantage back on exit and held it to the flag by .239 seconds.

“I knew going out there if I got the holeshot, I wanted to press the pace right away and create some separation,” Mees said. “I think Jeffrey knew exactly what I was doing because he was just pacing me. I looked back a couple times, and right there was the 23 (Carver).

“He was basically just riding my tail and at one point I rolled out of it and let him go by. I wanted to know where he was stronger, and he had a really good line in three and four. I saw that he tried it a couple times, and he did the exact same thing in the heat. On the last lap, when I felt him dive-bomb the bottom, I had a good counter for his move. I think he blew the corner a little bit coming off of it, and that allowed me to have a big gap out of turn four.”

While Mees made up some ground in the title fight as a result of claiming his fifth win this year, it probably wasn’t by quite as much as he may have anticipated when he took the checkered flag.

Championship leader Briar Bauman was forced to use a provisional start to advance into the Main Event after suffering a mechanical issue in his Semi.

Despite starting from dead last, Bauman somehow carved his way into seventh by the conclusion of lap one and established himself as one of five riders embroiled in a race-long battle for the final spot on the podium. Indeed, Bauman ultimately won that battle, finishing in third, 0.122 seconds ahead of brother and teammate Bronson Bauman.

Bauman now holds a 30-point advantage over Mees (260-230) with four races remaining.

Bryan Smith finished fifth, another 0.016 seconds in arrears, with Stephen Vanderkuur and Brandon Robinson fractionally behind in sixth and seventh, respectively.

Fresh off his clutch victory in Friday night’s Springfield Short Track, Dalton Gauthier steamrolled the competition in Saturday’s AFT Production Twins Main Event at the Springfield Mile I.

Gauthier’s arcing high lines may have allowed his rivals to keep him relatively contained during the opening stages of the 15-lap Main Event, but once he finally stretched open enough of an advantage to prevent his opponents from blocking his preferred path, those same lines made him simply unstoppable.

The triumph was not just his second of the weekend, it was also his second in succession in the AFT Production Twins class; he delivered the XG750R a second win in the first possible opportunity after scoring its historic maiden win last time out in the Sacramento Mile.

“I have to thank Jarod Vanderkooi for telling me to go there (to the high line) after the Semi, so shout out to him,” Gauthier said. “After the second or third lap I went up there and I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s hooking up. So I stayed up there and tried to ride consistent laps and break away and that’s what happened.

“I have to thank everybody at Harley-Davidson, Black Hills Harley-Davidson, Vance & Hines and everyone else who has gotten this bike working this great. It’s been awesome, and I’m having a lot of fun.”

Kolby Carlile and Chad Cose emerged from a multi-rider pack to battle for second place. The two actually managed to cut into Gauthier’s lead while waging their duel, which came down to the race’s final corner. Carlile sailed past Cose to open the last lap, but Cose switched-up his opponent driving through turns three and four.

However, the Estenson pilot managed a counter of his own while they streaked down the start/finish straight, nipping Cose by 0.101 seconds at the flag to finish as the race’s runner-up.

Second-ranked Ryan Varnes continued his consistent AFT Production Twins title campaign with his fifth top-five result of the year by taking fourth. Kevin Stollings was 0.002 seconds back of Varnes to round out the top five.

Championship leader Cory Texter took the checkered flag in ninth. As a result, he now leads Varnes by 22 points (133-111) with Carlile (100) and Gauthier (96) looking increasingly threatening in third and fourth, respectively.

Hamlin DQed, Custer Inherits Darlington Victory

Published in Racing
Saturday, 31 August 2019 16:00

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Cole Custer may not have been able to get past Denny Hamlin on the final restart of Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts/VFW 200, but he still walked out of Darlington Raceway with the trophy.

Custer was the beneficiary of a ride-height infraction on Denny Hamlin’s No. 18 Toyota Supra that disqualified the apparent winner at the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval from the final results.

Though Custer crossed the finish line .602 seconds behind Hamlin at the checkered flag, following the confirmation of technical inspection, it was the Ladera Ranch, Calif., native who received the spoils of victory at The Track Too Tough To Tame.

Hamlin had come from the last row of the grid – 37th, to be exact – and passed Ryan Blaney for the lead with 27 to go after a Friday practice crash sent him to a backup car and seemingly out of contention.

But Hamlin methodically worked his way through the field throughout the day, finally finding himself inside the top five with a shot when the final stage went green with 50 laps to go.

It took him around 20 of those laps for the speed in his car to show as the run drug on, but when the 30 to go benchmark ticked up on the scoreboard, Hamlin hit the jets and took off. He disposed of Custer to take second before driving inside Blaney on the approach to turn one on lap 121, quickly driving away.

However, a caution with 15 laps left closed the field back up and made for a scramble to the checkered flag, after Josh Williams spun exiting turn four, clipped Landon Cassill’s nose and tapped the inside wall.

That led to a final round of pit stops for fresh tires and a 10-lap shootout to the checkered flag, where Custer could stay with Hamlin by running the middle groove of the race track but could not get enough momentum to fully pull alongside the five-time Darlington Xfinity Series winner.

Hamlin’s disqualification erased that defeat, however, and elevated Custer to his sixth win of the year.

Cole Custer poses with the winner’s trophy Saturday at Darlington Raceway. (Jacob Seelman photo)

“It’s a wild ending, for sure. It’s one way to win it; it’s just not the way you want to win it,” said Custer, who carried a Buckshot Jones throwback scheme on his No. 00 Ford Mustang on Saturday. “It’s a strange feeling, definitely I wish I could have passed him, because him being low is not why he won that race. That’s the rules that we live by, though, and everyone plays by the same rulebook.

“You’ve seen several guys this year get bitten by it, so of course we’ll take this one,” he added. “We needed some additional momentum and some more playoff points and this certainly gave us that.”

Hamlin becomes the first Xfinity Series winner to have his victory stripped since Dale Jarrett, who was triumphant at Michigan Int’l Speedway in 1995 before an illegal carburetor was discovered in tech.

After coming in and going through what he thought was the customary winner’s press conference, the news filtered out and Hamlin quickly reacted to the disqualification on social media.

Tyler Reddick, who originally finished third, rose to the runner-up position in the adjusted results.

Ryan Blaney, who led 50 laps down the stretch, Christopher Bell and Dale Earnhardt Jr. filled out the top five.

Joe Gibbs Racing has the option to appeal the disqualification, and must make the decision whether they will do so or not by Monday.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

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