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COLE CUSTER – 2018 Kentucky I NXS Race Advance

Event:               Alsco 300 (Round 17 of 33)
Date:                 July 13, 2018
Location:          Kentucky Speedway in Sparta
Layout:             1.5-mile oval

 

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

 

  • The Alsco 300 will mark Cole Custer’s third career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.
  • Custer has earned three poles, six top-five finishes, 12 top-10s, and has led 114 laps in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
  • Custer is third in the Xfinity Series driver standings, 26 points behind leader Elliott Sadler.
  • In 19 career Xfinity Series starts and nine camping World Truck Series starts at 1.5-mile ovals, Custer has one win, eight top-five finishes and 16 top-10s.
  • In 2017, Custer led the Xfinity Series with 422 points at 1.5-mile tracks.
  • Last year at Kentucky, Custer started third, led 49 laps and piloted the Haas Automation Ford to its first top-five at the track.
  • Custer’s best finish in the 16 Xfinity Series races this season is second on May 26 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
  • Custer has qualified inside the top-five at five of the last six races this season. He has earned six top-five starts and 12 top-10 starts in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.
  • The No. 00 Haas Automation Ford team is bringing Chassis No. 1113 to Kentucky. Chassis No. 1113 finished second at Charlotte and fourth at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

 

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

 

You led 49 laps last year at Kentucky. Does that track feel better than some of the other 1.5-mile tracks?

“Last year in the second (Kentucky) race, we hit on a good setup, so I’m looking forward to coming back this year and building off that. We felt really confident at Kentucky last year and led some solid laps.”

Are 1.5-mile tracks going to be your bread and butter again this year?

“I think this year we’ve gotten better at all the tracks, but the mile-and-a-half tracks are still our strong suit. It feels good to know we’re getting better at them because Homestead is where we have to be our best.”

How determined are you to hunt down a regular-season win before the playoffs start, knowing that you have the cars to do it?

“We’ve been in the hunt for wins recently, so that makes us even more hungry to go out there and get one.”

 

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

Talk about the car you are taking to Kentucky.

“We are bringing Chassis No. 1113, which we ran at Charlotte and Texas. We feel extremely confident in this car as it always gives us a solid finish. We just have to be at the right place when it counts to finally pull off a win this season. We had a shot at Charlotte and Texas this year, and Cole is getting better every time we visit a 1.5-mile track. I would expect to see our best run, yet, if all goes well.”