Cole Custer Finishes 12^th at Watkins Glen

Haas Automation Driver Battles in and Around Top-10

Date: August 5, 2017
Event: Zippo 200 at The Glen (Round 20 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International (2.45-mile road course)
Format: 82 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/42 laps)
Start/Finish: 9^th/12^th (Running, completed 82 of 82 laps)
Point Standing: 6^th (503 points, 229 out of first)

Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Paul Menard of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-20):

• Started ninth, finished seventh. Earned four stage points.
• Custer raced his Haas Automation Ford Mustang in the top-10 for the majority of Stage 1, noting loose-handling conditions.
• At the conclusion of the Stage, crew chief Jeff Meendering radioed Custer to stay out of the pits.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 21-40):       

• Started second, finished 16^th.
• During the first lap of Stage 2, Custer and teammate Kevin Harvick were involved in an accident resulting in minimal damage.
• On lap 25, Custer pitted under green-flag conditions for four tires and fuel after telling Meendering he smelled smoke.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 41-82): 

• Started 16^th, finished 12^th.
• Custer made his way just outside of the top-10 before pitting on lap 50 for four tires and fuel.
• On lap 71, Custer raced his Haas Automation Ford back into the top-10.
• Meendering called Custer to the pits during a caution with six laps to go for four fresh tires and fuel.
• He restarted in the 16^th position before battling just outside of the top-10 at the conclusion of the race.

Notes:              

• The Zippo 200 at The Glen was Custer’s first NASCAR XFINITY Series start at the 2.45-mile road course and his fourth-career start at Watkins Glen International.
• Five cautions slowed the race for 15 laps.
• 17 of the 40 cars finished on the lead lap.
• Kyle Busch won the Zippo 200 to score his 90^th career XFINITY Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Watkins Glen. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was 1.049 of a second.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We started out loose and got tighter as the run went on. When we were by ourselves we passed a lot of cars and had top-five lap times. We just got set back a little there. We were going to have a pretty good day, but had a terrible restart there at the end.”

Cole Custer Finishes Fifth at Iowa

Haas Automation Driver Scores Second Straight Top-Five

Date: July 29, 2017
Event: US Cellular 250 Presented by American Ethanol (Round 19 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Iowa Speedway in Newton (.875-mile oval)
Format: 250 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/130 laps)
Start/Finish: 5^th/5^th (Running, completed 254 of 254 laps)
Point Standing: 6^th (474 points, 233 out of first)

Race Winner: Ryan Preece of Joe Gibbs Racing in overtime (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Ryan Preece of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

• Started fifth, finished seventh. Earned four stage points.
• Custer ran in and around the top-five noting tight-handling conditions throughout Stage 1.
• Was the highest finishing rookie of the stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-120):     

• Started fourth, finished eighth. Earned three stage points.
• Custer ran just outside of the top-five throughout Stage 2.
• Custer pitted for four tires and fuel at the conclusion of Stage 2 to correct tight handling conditions.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 121-254):          

• Started sixth, finished fifth.
• Custer ran as high as third during the final stage.
• After a caution on lap 234, Custer opted not to pit and restarted in the third position
• Custer battled inside of the top-five until the conclusion of the race.

Notes:              

• This marks Custer’s fourth top-five of 2017 and the fifth top-five of his XFINITY Series career.
• This marks Custer’s ninth top-10 of 2017 and the 11^th top-10 of his XFINITY Series career.
• Custer was the highest finishing rookie.
• Seven cautions slowed the race for 40 laps.
• Ryan Preece won the US Cellular 250 to score his first career XFINITY Series victory. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Benjamin was .054 of a second.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 “We had a really solid Haas Automation Mustang this week. We kind of struggled a bit last time we were here and wanted to improve on what we had, so we brought something completely different and it really paid off. The team did a great job bringing something new. We had bad restarts today mostly because we started on the bottom. I think we had at least a third-place car this weekend. It was fun to be good at a short track this year and, hopefully, we can keep that going. I can’t thank everybody enough – Tony Stewart and Gene Haas for the opportunity and Ford for another fast racecar.”

Cole Custer Finishes Fifth at Indianapolis

Haas Automation Driver Earns Third Top-Five of Season  

Date: July 22, 2017
Event: Lilly Diabetes 250 (Round 18 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile rectangle)
Format: 100 laps, broken into three stages (30 laps/30 laps/40 laps)
Start/Finish: 6^th/5^th (Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
Point Standing: 6^th (435 points, 230 out of first)

Race Winner: William Byron of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Elliott Sadler of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-30):

• Started sixth, finished fourth. Earned seven stage points.
• A competition caution on lap 15 presented Custer with the opportunity to correct a tight-handling condition on his Haas Automation Ford Mustang with four fresh tires, fuel and wedge adjustments. He restarted in the eighth position.
• Custer drove to fourth place after the restart and ran in the top-five for the remainder of the stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 31-60):       

• Started fourth, finished 31^st.
• Custer battled inside the top-10 throughout the majority of Stage 2.
• On lap 56, Custer opted to pit under green-flag conditions for four fresh tires and fuel.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 61-100):

• Started seventh, finished fifth.
• Custer raced in and around the top-10 for the first half of the final stage.
• By lap 84, Custer had made his way back into the top-five.
• During the final laps, Custer closed the gap on fourth-place Elliott Sadler before earning a top-five in his first start at Indianapolis.

 Notes:              

• Custer scored his third top-five of the 2017 season and his fourth career top-five in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. It was also his eighth top-10 of 2017 and his 10^th top-10 in 23 XFINITY Series starts.
• The Lilly Diabetes 250 was Custer’s first start of any kind at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• Five cautions slowed the race for 22 laps.
• William Byron won the Lilly Diabetes 250 to score his third career XFINITY Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Indianapolis. His margin of victory over second-place Paul Menard was .108 of a second.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“It was a pretty fun race. A lot of the time we were kind of strung out there, but when you could get a push it was awesome to get locked up going down the straightaways and everything. Our Haas Automation Mustang was pretty good today. I think we were just as good as the leaders, but I had some bad restarts there at the end. I wasn’t really proud of that. We got a solid run and we’ll go to Iowa and hopefully improve on our last run. I think the new aero package we ran would be a good speedway package, but it’s hard to tell because this was my first start at Indy. It was interesting.”

Cole Custer Finishes Ninth at New Hampshire

Haas Automation Driver Earns Seventh Top-10

Date: July 15, 2017
Event: Overton’s 200 (Round 17 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)
Start/Finish: 10^th/9^th (Running, completed 199 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 6^th (396 points, 224 out of first)
 

Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):

• Started 10^th, finished 14^th.
• Custer noted tight-handling conditions until inclement weather brought out the red flag.
• Before the green flag resumed the stage, Custer pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments. He restarted in the 20^th position.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):       

• Started ninth, finished 11^th.
• Custer ran just outside of the top-10 throughout Stage 2 noting that his car was tight on the bottom groove, loose in the middle and loose at the top.
• He pitted for four tires, fuel and wedge adjustments at the conclusion of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):

• Started 10^th, finished ninth.
• Custer ran as high as seventh place in the final stage.
• On lap 168, Custer pitted for two tires, fuel and wedge adjustments to come off pit road in the 11^th position.
• Custer continued to fight tight-handling conditions, but drove his Ford inside the top-10 before the conclusion of the race.

Notes:              

• Custer earned his seventh top-10 of the 2017 season and his ninth top-10 in 22 XFINITY Series starts.
• This marks Custer’s fourth top-10 in five starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• Three cautions slowed the race for 15 laps.
• Only six of the 40 drivers finished on the lead lap.
• Kyle Busch won the Overton’s 200 to score his 89^th career XFINITY Series victory, his third of the season and his sixth at New Hampshire.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We fought the handling on our Haas Automation Ford Mustang a good bit today. We definitely got it better. Our short track stuff hasn’t been the best this year, but we know we can get it better. We know where we are kind of struggling. We will keep working hard on it and come back better next time.”

Cole Custer Finishes 11^th at Kentucky

Haas Automation Driver Earns Career-Best Kentucky Finish

Date: July 8, 2017
Event: Alsco 300 (Round 16 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Kentucky Speedway in Sparta (1.5 mile-oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)
Start/Finish: 8^th/11^th (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 6^th (368 points, 210 out of first)

 Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):

• Started eighth, finished sixth. Earned five stage points.
• Ran in and around the top-five throughout the stage. Highest running position was third.
• Pitted for two tires and fuel at conclusion of stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):       

• Started eighth, finished 12^th.
• Custer noted his Haas Automation Ford Mustang was loose on landing in between turns one and two of the 1.5-mile oval.
• Ran just outside the top-10 for the majority of the stage.
• Pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments at conclusion of stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):

• Started 12^th, finished 11^th.
• Custer was caught in traffic at the beginning of the stage and fell back to the 16^th place.
• After a lap-168 caution, Custer pitted for two tires, fuel and adjustments to restart in the 10^th position.
• Ran as high as seventh before the conclusion of the race.

 Notes:              

• This was Custer’s second NASCAR XFINITY Series start at Kentucky and his 21^st career XFINITY Series start.
• Custer’s 11^th-place finish in the Alsco 300 was his best result ever at Kentucky. Prior to the race, Custer had one XFINITY Series start and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Kentucky. Both came in 2016 and he finished 32^nd and 14^th, respectively.
• Custer moved up one spot in the championship standings to sixth, 27 points behind fifth-place Brennan Pole and 210 points behind series leader Elliott Sadler.
• There were eight caution periods for a total of 44 laps.
• Twenty of the 40 drivers in the Alsco 300 finished on the lead lap.
• Kyle Busch won the Alsco 300 to score his 88^th career XFINITY Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Kentucky. His margin of victory over second-place Ryan Blaney was 1.097 seconds.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We had track position at the start and were able to get some points, but we fought the handling a little bit on our Haas Automation Mustang today. We did get better as the day went on, but just missed it a little bit. We will learn for when we come back.”

Cole Custer Finishes 22nd at Daytona

Haas Automation Driver Involved in Multicar Accident on Lap 99

Date: June 30-July 1, 2017

Event: Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 (Round 15 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 104 laps, broken into three stages (30 laps/30 laps/44 laps)
Start/Finish: 19^th/22^nd (Running, completed 104 of 104 laps)
Point Standing: 7^th (338 points, 215 out of first)

Race Winner: William Byron of JR Motorsports in overtime (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Blake Koch of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Elliott Sadler of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-30):

• Cole Custer started 19^th, finished 34^th.
• Inclement weather on lap nine brought out the red flag, ultimately postponing the race until 12 p.m. EDT on July 1.
• Custer ran toward the back of the field, noting tight-handling conditions throughout Stage 1.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 31-60):

• Started third, finished 31^st.
• Custer said his Haas Automation Ford Mustang became tighter as the stage wore on.
• On lap 50 Custer was involved in an accident, which pushed him toward the rear of the field.
• The racecar was not damaged, but Custer was called to pit road by crew chief Jeff Meendering for four tires, fuel and adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 61-100):

• Started 18^th, finished 22^nd.
• Custer continued to note tight-handling conditions throughout the final stage.
• He drove his Haas Automation Ford Mustang into the top-10 by lap 83.
• On lap 99 Custer was involved in a multicar accident that brought out the red flag for nine minutes and 56 seconds.
• Custer battled his way to finish just outside of the top-20 before the conclusion of the race.

Notes:              

• Due to an accident not of his making in the final XFINITY Series practice on Thursday, Custer was forced to a backup racecar in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250.
• Nine cautions slowed the race for 35 laps.
• William Byron won the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 to score his second career XFINITY Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Daytona.
• Elliott Sadler, who finished second in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250, leads the championship standings with 553 points and has a 59-point margin over Byron, his nearest pursuer.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We had to go to our backup Ford Mustang and worked really hard to get it out there. It was really fast and handled really well, and the guys worked hard all weekend. We could have been better handling-wise, but we were okay. I just got caught up in that wreck there at the end.”

Cole Custer Finishes 10th at Michigan

Haas Automation Driver Leads 15 Laps, Claims Fourth Consecutive Top-10

Date: June 17, 2017
Event: Irish Hills 250 (Round 13 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)
Format: 125 laps, broken into three stages (30 laps/30 laps/65 laps)
Start/Finish: 7th/10th (Running, completed 125 of 125 laps)
Point Standing: 8th (309 points, 151 out of first)

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Elliot Sadler of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-30):

• Started seventh, finished ninth. Earned two stage points.
• Custer reported a loose-handling condition for a majority of Stage 1.
• At the conclusion of the stage, Custer pitted for two tires, chassis adjustments and fuel to gain nine positions.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 31-60):       

• Started first, finished 11th.
• Custer led 15 laps before the loose-handling condition returned.
• During a lap-58 caution that ended Stage 2, Custer pitted for four tires, fuel and wedge adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 61-125):

• Started third, finished 10th.
• Custer battled in the top-10 throughout the final stage.
• During a lap-84 caution, Custer pitted for two tires, fuel and adjustments then restarted fifth.
• Custer restarted the race in seventh with five laps remaining before securing his sixth top-10 finish of the season.

Notes:              

• Custer led a career-high 15 laps.
• Saturday marked Custer’s fourth consecutive top-10 finish and his eighth top-10 in 18 career starts.
• Seven cautions slowed the race for 32 laps.
• Denny Hamlin won the Irish Hills 250 to score his 16th career XFINITY Series victory, his first of the season and his third at Michigan. His margin of victory over second-place William Byron was .012 of a second.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I thought we were solid. Our Haas Automation Ford Mustang was loose the whole race. We couldn’t get going great, but we fought all day and had a good strategy. We were able to stay up there, but were missing a little bit.”

Cole Custer Finishes Seventh at Pocono

Haas Automation Driver Claims Third Consecutive Rookie of the Race Award

Date: June 10, 2017
Event: Pocono Green 250 (Round 12 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format: 100 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/25 laps/50 laps)
Start/Finish: 3rd/7th (Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
Point Standing: 9th (280 points, 129 out of first)

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-25):

•  Started third, finished 27th.
• Custer endured a loose-handling racecar at the beginning of Stage 1, but his Haas Automation Ford Mustang swung to the tight side as the stage went on.
• Custer pitted under green on lap 22 for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 26-50):       

•  Started first, finished third. Earned eight stage points.
• Custer led 14 laps and ran in the top-five throughout Stage 2.
• Pitted for four tires, fuel, air pressure and chassis adjustments at the conclusion of Stage 2.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 51-100):

•  Started ninth, finished seventh.
• Custer fought a tight handling racecar throughout the final stage.
• On lap 62, Custer pitted under green for a quick, fuel-only stop.
• After a caution on lap 80, Custer opted not to pit to gain track position. He restarted in first place.
• Drivers with fresher tires were able to pass Custer, but the pit-strategy call allowed him to secure a solid top-10 finish.

Notes:              

• For the third consecutive race, Custer was the highest-finishing NASCAR XFINITY Series rookie.
• The seventh-place result was Custer’s third consecutive top-10 finish.
• Custer has earned the most Rookie of the Race awards (five) this season.
• This was Custer’s seventh top-10 finish in 17 career XFINITY Series starts, his fifth top-10 of 2017 and his third top-10 at Pocono.
• Custer led a career-high 14 laps.
• Brad Keselowski won the Pocono 250 to score his 35th career XFINITY Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Justin Allgaier was .615 of a second.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We had a really solid car. I thought Jeff (Meendering, crew chief) had a really good strategy and got us up there. I think me and whoever was behind me got our communication mixed up on that final restart, so we didn’t know how we were going to push each other going into turn one. We had a solid Haas Automation Ford Mustang and made a lot out of it. It was great to lead a few laps there too. This makes you feel like you deserve to be here. It reaffirms your confidence. I still need to try and win some races, so we’ll focus on that in the future.”

Cole Custer Finishes Fourth at Dover

Haas Automation Driver Ties Career-Best NASCAR XFINITY Series Finish

Date: June 3, 2017
Event: OneMain Financial 200 (Round 11 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Dover (Del.) International Speedway (1-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/80 laps)
Start/Finish: 14^th/4^th (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 10^th (242 points, 133 out of first)
 

Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Darrell Wallace Jr. of Roush Fenway Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):

•  Started 14^th, finished 16^th.
• Custer battled tight-handling conditions on exit throughout Stage 1.
• Toward the end of the stage, Custer raced his Haas Automation Ford Mustang just outside of the top-10 until he was caught in traffic that pushed him back to the middle of the field.
• At the conclusion of the stage, Custer pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-120):     

•  Started 15^th, finished 16^th.
• Custer’s tight-handling conditions persisted, but improved slightly as the stage went on.
• During a lap-113 caution, Custer opted to pit for four fresh tires, fuel and chassis adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 121-200):          

•  Started third, finished fourth.
• Custer did not pit at the conclusion of Stage 2, placing him in the top-five for the first time in the race.
• After a lap-145 caution, Custer battled his way into second place.
• Custer ran consistently inside the top-four for the remainder of the race.

Notes:              

• Custer was the highest-finishing rookie and NASCAR XFINITY Series regular driver.
• This was Custer’s second consecutive race as the highest-finishing rookie and XFINITY Series regular driver.
• His fourth-place finish was his best finish this season and it equaled his career-best result, first earned at Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway in May 2016.
• This is Custer’s third top-five finish in 16 career XFINITY Series starts, his second top-five of the 2017 season and his second top-five at Dover.
• There were a total of 10 caution periods for 45 laps.
• Kyle Larson won the OneMain Financial 200 to score his eighth career XFINITY Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Dover. His margin of victory over second-place Ryan Blaney was 1.173 seconds.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“We played the strategy game today and it worked out perfect for us. Once we got our Haas Automation Ford Mustang into clean air, we were able to run really well. It’s awesome to be able to finally build some consistency. It’s great to get some consistent runs even when things aren’t going our way.”

Event:                OneMain Financial 200 (Round 11 of 33)
Date:                 June 3, 2017
Location:          Dover (Del.) International Speedway
Layout:             Concrete mile oval

Cole Custer Notes of Interest 

• The OneMain Financial 200 will mark Cole Custer’s 16^th career NASCAR XFINITY Series start and his first XFINITY Series start at Dover International Speedway.

• While the OneMain Financial 200 will be Custer’s first XFINITY Series start at Dover, it will be his sixth overall start at the concrete mile oval. Custer has three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and two NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts at Dover. Custer’s best finish at Dover is fifth in the 2016 Truck Series race.

• In the 2015 Truck Series race at Dover, Custer led 67 laps and ran in and around the top-five until lap 138 when a fueling issue pushed him off the lead lap and into the 13^th position, where he would ultimately finish the race.

• In 15 XFINITY Series starts, 42 Camping World Truck Series starts and 29 K&N Pro Series starts since 2015, Custer has five wins, six poles, 13 top-five finishes, 22 top-10s and 919 laps led at tracks that are a mile in length or shorter.

• Custer’s best finish in the 10 XFINITY Series races run this season is fifth, earned in the sixth event April 8 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It was his second career top-five finish in the XFINITY Series.

• Custer’s best qualifying effort in the 10 XFINITY Series races run this season is third, earned in the seventh race of the season April 22 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Custer has six top-10 starts and two top-five starts this season.

• Last weekend at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Custer was the highest-finishing XFINITY Series regular driver and rookie in all three stages (third, fifth and seventh, respectively). It was the second consecutive time Custer was the highest-finishing rookie and XFINITY Series regular at Charlotte.

• Custer is third in the XFINITY Series Rookie of the Year standings, 21 points behind leader William Byron and 16 points behind second-place Daniel Hemric. Custer has earned three Rookie of the Race awards this season, all at 1.5-mile tracks (fifth at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, 11^th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and seventh at Charlotte).

• Custer is 11^th in the XFINITY Series driver standings, 123 points behind series leader Elliot Sadler.

• The OneMain Financial 200 is the last of four Dash 4 Cash races on the 2017 XFINITY Series schedule. This means drivers will race for a $100,000 cash bonus. Each of the top two full-time XFINITY Series drivers from Stage 1 and Stage 2 will become Dash 4 Cash eligible in the final stage.

• As a Dash 4 Cash race, no full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers with five or more years of experience is entered in the OneMain Financial 200 in order to give regular XFINITY Series drivers a better chance to win. This means the only NASCAR Cup Series drivers competing in the OneMain Financial 200 are Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney.

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

How do you like racing at Dover?

“I’m looking forward to it. It’s one of the coolest tracks we go to. Dover is a concrete track and we had a great run at Bristol. I think we’ll unload another great car and, with the momentum we’re bringing from Charlotte, I think we’ll have a good shot.”

This is the last Dash 4 Cash race of the 2017 season. Is there any pressure to bring home the grand prize?

“We’ll race as hard as we can to get in those Dash 4 Cash spots, but we don’t want to put ourselves in a bad position to jeopardize a solid points-paying finish.”

You’ve been successful in your career at mile tracks. What are your expectations for this weekend at Dover?

“I’m fairly confident going into the weekend. Dover is somewhere I’ve always run well at, but I’ve never really gotten the finishes I would like to have there. It seems like we’ve always been in the fight for a win there. I’m looking forward to getting back there in our Haas Automation Ford Mustang and logging another solid finish.”

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A

What are your thoughts on racing at Dover?

“Dover is one of the more challenging tracks we run at. It’s very difficult to get a good balance with the big transitions in and out of the corners. Cole has had good runs in other series at that track. After a good run in Charlotte, we come into the weekend with a lot of confidence.”