Camping World Truck Series Rhino Linings 350 at Las Vegas Preview

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Custer Cruises At NHMS; Becomes NASCAR’s Youngest Winner

At this time of year, most 16-year-olds worry about finding a date for homecoming or practicing for their driver’s license tests.

Cole Custer isn’t your typical 16-year-old.

He keeps himself busy by competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he became NASCAR’s youngest national series winner at 16 years, seven months and 28 days, taking the checkered flag in the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Don’t chalk the accomplishment up to beginner’s luck either. Custer won in dominant fashion, leading 148-of-175 laps from the pole, setting the track record (131.897 MPH) and outdueling defending Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton on the last restart with four go-arounds remaining.

Custer’s triumph marks the third time in just over a year a driver has broken the record for the youngest NASCAR national series winner. The previous record-holder was fellow NASCAR Next member Erik Jones (17 years, four months and nine days old), who took it from last August’s mark-setter Chase Elliott (17 years, 9 months, four days) at Phoenix International Speedway in November. No stranger to age records, Custer became the youngest pole winner in NASCAR national series history at Gateway in June.

Following the race, UNOH presented him with a Presidential Scholarship.

In seven starts this season, Custer boasts five top-ten finishes. He will compete in two more Camping World Truck Series events on this year’s calendar, on Oct. 25 at Martinsville Speedway and Nov. 7 at Phoenix International Raceway.

FF-CWTS-LVMS2Deuces Wild: Peters Goes For Repeat In Las Vegas

Timothy Peters played his cards right last year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, jumping to the lead on the last restart to take home his second checkered flag of the season.

Currently winless in 2014, Peters returns to Vegas on Saturday where he will roll the dice in the Rhino Linings 350, looking to defend his title and build on a season highlighted by four top-five and eight top-ten finishes.

Last year’s performance in Las Vegas was no fluke for the Red Horse Racing driver. In six career starts at the 1.5-mile track, Peters boasts four top-ten finishes, including three top-five showings.

The 34-year-old could use some momentum after finishing 11th at Loudon. Although steady with an average finish of 12.4, he has not finished in the top-five since his fourth-place showing at Kentucky in June. Peters ranks eighth in the series standings with only six races to go – one point behind Ben Kennedy for the seventh spot.

NASCAR Next Driver Looks To Do KBM Proud At Home

NASCAR Next member Erik Jones leads the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports team to its owner’s hometown of Las Vegas for his first career start at the track in Saturday’s Rhino Linings 350.

And the odds are quite good there will be a No. 51 Toyota Tundra “sighting” in Victory Lane.

The No. 51 team has been dominant at 1.5-mile tracks this season, scoring four victories in five starts. Busch, who splits seat time with the 18-year-old Jones, has piloted the truck in all four victories, but his protégé possesses the talent needed to leave the rest of the field in his dust. In fact, Jones won the Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa in July on the shorter tracks and claims three top-ten finishes in four races since then.

The NASCAR Next member will try to give KBM its first victory at Las Vegas, one of only five tracks on the current schedule where the team has yet to earn a win.

Owner points are also at stake for Jones and KBM. The No. 51 truck ranks third in the owner standings, trailing ThorSport’s No. 88 (Matt Crafton) and No. 98 (Johnny Sauter) Toyotas by eight points and one point, respectively.