Magnussen finishes 27th in Cup debut at Coronado but gets fastest lap

In his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at Naval Base Coronado, Kevin Magnussen finishes in 27th place, three laps down in the No. 91 for Trackhouse Racing. But with three laps to go, Magnussen turned the fastest lap of the race, earning him an extra point under the Xfinity Fastest Lap.

Magnussen’s fastest lap around Coronado was 132.49 seconds, which is nearly three quarters of a second faster than race winner Corey Heim’s fastest lap.

Magnussen qualified in 21st out of 39 starters and ran around the high to mid 20s throughout the early parts stage one. He did make it up to 13th as the stage ended under caution.

In stage two, Magnussen would have a run in with Noah Gragson early on in which both drivers made contact with each other. Both then ran into each other again with two to go in the stage, where Magnussen sent Gragson around and into the wall taking him out of the race.

Magnussen finished 14th in stage two. Both him and Gragson had a heated argument post race over the incident.

In stage three, Magnussen restarted in the top 10 before falling back and spun out on lap 45 but did not bring the caution out. Magnussen charged back through the field, and restarted in the top 10 again on the final restart with 11 laps to go.

Unfortunately he was on old tires and had to forfeit with a pit stop, but took the chance with fresh tires in the closing laps to set the fastest lap of the race.

Magnussen’s cup debut marked the return of Trackhouse’s Project91 which has brought international superstars to cup. The last time the entry raced was last years Daytona 500 with four time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves.

Magnussen also isn’t the only in his family to run a cup race. His father Jan drove the No. 09 Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing to a strong 12th place finish at Sonoma Raceway in 2010.

The former Formula One and current IMSA and World Endurance Championship competitor surely made a mark on NASCAR competition, and his presence helped make a historic trip for NASCAR to Naval Base Coronado a special one.

Could we see Magnussen race again in cup and try to beat his dads cup finish?