Cole Custer Finishes Seventh at Charlotte

Haas Automation Driver Claims Rookie of the Race Honors

Date: May 27, 2017
Event: Hisense 4K TV 300 (Round 10 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)
Start/Finish: Sixth/Seventh (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 11th (209 points, 123 out of first)

Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):

•  Started sixth, finished third to earn eight stage points.
• Custer ran the majority of Stage 1 in the top-five.
• He noted his Haas Automation Mustang was tight in the center and free on entry throughout the stage.
• At the conclusion of Stage 1, Custer took four fresh tires and adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):       

•  Started fifth, finished fifth to earn six stage points.
• Adjustments improved the handling of Custer’s Ford Mustang at the beginning of the stage, but the handling became loose on landing as the stage went on.
• Custer took his second set of fresh tires and air pressure adjustments at the conclusion of Stage 2.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):

•  Started fifth, finished seventh.
• Custer ran in and around the top-five for the majority of the final stage.
• On lap 160, Custer pitted under caution for four tires and adjustments. He gained one position and restarted fourth.
• After the final caution, Custer restarted 10th and battled his Ford Mustang up three positions before the conclusion of the race.

Notes:              

• Custer was the highest-finishing rookie and NASCAR XFINITY Series regular in all three stages.
• This marks Custer’s fifth top-10 finish in 15 career XFINITY Series starts, his third top-10 of the 2017 season and his second consecutive top-10 finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Custer earned the most stage points of any XFINITY Series regular driver with 14 stage points.
• This marks Custer’s second consecutive Charlotte Motor Speedway finish as the highest-finishing XFINITY Series driver.
• There were a total of 12 cautions for 52 laps.

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

How did you feel about the race today at Charlotte?

“We had an awesome Haas Automation Mustang. I had one bad restart there at the end, but all of my other restarts were decent and had us in the top-five. I just can’t thank everybody enough. We had an awesome day today and it’s all about my team, I’m just steering the wheel. Ford Performance has been a big help this year. We’ve used a lot of their tools to come here with and I think we’ll have a great car to come back with.”

Harvick Finishes Second at Charlotte

Hunt Brothers Pizza Driver Scores Third NASCAR XFINITY Series Top-Five of 2017

Date: May 27, 2017
Event: Hisense 4K TV 300 (Round 10 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/200 laps)
Start/Finish: 5th/2nd (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Ends on Lap 45):
●  Started fifth, finished first.
●  The No. 41 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang raced to the lead on lap 8.
●  Kevin Harvick held the lead for the remainder of Stage 1.
●  Richard Boswell, No. 41 crew chief, called Harvick to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment at the end of Stage 1.
●  Traffic on pit road cost Harvick the lead following the Stage 1 pit stop.

Stage 2 Recap (Ends on Lap 90):  
●  Started third, finished fourth.
●  Harvick struggled to regain position as the Hunt Brothers Ford was loose off  the corner in traffic.
●  The Hunt Brothers Pizza team pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment following Stage 2.

Final Stage Recap (Ends on Lap 200):        
●  Started fourth, finished second.
●  Harvick raced his way up to the third position by lap 120.
●  He gained a position thanks to a fast pit stop by the Hunt Brothers Pizza pit crew on lap 126 and restarted second.
●  Harvick made the pass for the lead on lap 181 and held it until the final restart.

Notes:                   
●  Harvick scored his eighth top-five finish in 28 NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
●  It is his 181st top-five finish in 338 XFINITY Series starts.
●  Harvick led three times for 58 laps.
●  Harvick’s SHR teammate Cole Custer was the highest-finishing rookie with a seventh-place finish. It was his fifth top-10 finish in 15 career XFINITY Series starts and his third top-10 finish of 2017.
●  This is Harvick’s third XFINITY Series start for Stewart-Haas Racing.
●  The race featured 12 lead changes among seven drivers and 12 cautions for 52 laps.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 41 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I knew I was in a pickle there with the 22 behind on the outside and I knew the 12 had the best car taking off.  He’s actually the one who helped us get the lead, pushing us to the lead, so I didn’t really know what to do.  He just wound up beating us there on the restart and that’s pretty much it.  I’m just really proud of everybody on our Hunt Brothers Ford.  I feel like we were better than the last time we came out and led a bunch of laps and were in contention all day and just didn’t finish it off there over the last few laps.”

Cole Custer Finishes 26th at Talladega

Haas Automation Driver Battles Through After Being Collected in Lap-50 Accident

Date: May 6, 2017
Event: Sparks Energy 300 (Round 9 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Format: 113 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/25 laps/63 laps)
Start/Finish: 13th/26th (Running, completed 95 of 113 laps)
Point Standing: 12th (165 points, 165 out of first)
Race Winner: Aric Almirola of Biagi-DenBeste Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Aric Almirola of Biagi-DenBeste Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of Junior Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-25): 

•  Started 13th, finished 14th.
• Battled tight-handling conditions throughout Stage 1.
• On lap 22, Custer weaved his way through a multicar accident that brought out a red-flag caution.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 26-50):

•  Started third, finished 28th.
• Custer ran as high as second and ran in and around the top-10 throughout Stage 2.
• On the final lap of Stage 2, Custer was collected in an accident that damaged his Ford Mustang.

 Final Stage Recap (Laps 51-113):

•  Started 26th, finished 26th.
• After the red-flag caution, Custer utilized the five-minute clock to put his car back on track.
• The Haas Automation crew worked tirelessly throughout the final stage to ensure the No. 00 Ford Mustang would finish the race.

 Notes:              

• The Sparks Energy 300 marked Custer’s first NASCAR XFINITY Series start at Talladega Superspeedway.
• Twelve cars finished on the lead lap.

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

“We had a pretty solid Haas Automation Ford Mustang today. We played it safe at the beginning. We got up to there a bit, and somebody just turned somebody and we got collected in it. It’s great that the team was able to fix the car and keep me going. It’s good to be able to come home with something, but we’ll move on to Charlotte, and I think we’ll be pretty good.”

Cole Custer Finishes 13th at Richmond

Haas Automation Driver 12^th in Season Standings

Date: April 29, 2017
Event: Richmond 250 (Round 8 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (.75-mile oval)
Format: 250 laps, broken into three stages (75 laps/75 laps/100 laps)
Start/Finish: 16th/13th (Running, completed 254 of 254 laps in overtime)
Point Standing: 12th (154 points, 141 out of first)
Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of Junior Motorsports (Chevrolet

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):

•  Started 16th, finished 15th.
• Battled tight-handling conditions throughout Stage 1.
• At the conclusion of Stage 1, Custer took four fresh tires and chassis adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-150):    

•  Started 16th, finished 12th.
• Custer’s Ford Mustang improved in handling and battled its way to 10^th place after the restart.
• After a caution on lap 117, Custer restarted in the 12^th position with 26 laps to go.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 151-254):      

•  Started 10th, finished 13th.
• Custer battled in and around the top-10 throughout the final stage.
• A caution with 13 laps to go provided Custer the opportunity to take four fresh tires and restart in 12^th place.
• After a final caution, Custer restarted in the 10^th position before being collected in an accident in overtime.

 Notes:                

• This marked Custer’s second NASCAR XFINITY Series start at Richmond International Raceway and 13th overall start in the XFINITY Series.
• This was Kyle Larson’s second win of the 2017 XFINITY Series season.

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

How was today’s race at Richmond?

“It was a bit of a struggle for our team today. We unloaded a fast Haas Automation Ford Mustang, and we were great in practice but just lost something in the race. We made some improvements to the car throughout the race but still needed a little more.”

Event: Richmond 250 (Round 8 of 33)
Date: April 29, 2017
Location: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway
Layout: .75-mile oval

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

• The Richmond 250 will mark Custer’s fourth race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and his second NASCAR XFINITY Series race at the .75-mile oval. In his first XFINITY Series start at Richmond, Custer claimed his first XFINITY Series top-10 (April 23, 2016).

• Custer is no stranger to victory lane at Richmond. In 2014, he took the checkered flag after leading 52 laps in the K&N Pro Series East race. In Custer’s three combined starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (two races) and NASCAR XFINITY Series (one race) at Richmond, Custer has a win, two top-five finishes, three top-10s and 76 laps led.

• The Richmond 250 is the third 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 are entered in the Richmond 250. This means the only NASCAR Cup Series drivers competing in the Richmond 250 are Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. This is designed to give regular XFINITY Series drivers a better chance to win.

• Last week at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Custer placed in the top-two in Stage 1, giving him a shot at the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the first time this season. In the final stage, he ran as high as third before being collected in an accident with only 38 laps to go, ending his race.

• Custer participated in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) event at Richmond on Thursday, where he taught nearly 500 Central Virginia eighth-grade students the science behind racing. As a freshman student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Custer is an education advocate.

• Custer is 12^th in the XFINITY Series championship standings, 130 points behind series leader Elliot Sadler.

• Custer is third in the XFINITY Series Rookie of the Year standings, 30 points behind leader William Byron and 13 points behind second-place Daniel Hemric. 

Cole Custer, Driver Q&A

You have a win, two top-fives and three top-10s at Richmond. What will it take to get your second win at Richmond?  

“Richmond is a tough place because you’re just slipping and sliding the whole time, so I think you’ll definitely need a car that can be good on a long run to win there. It’s a really smooth track, but you just slide around like you’re on ice. It makes it really fun and challenging.”

 This is your third Dash 4 Cash race. How does that play into your race strategy? Do you focus on the big check or the win?

 “I’d say you still go for the overall win because that’s what gets you into the playoffs. All of us will definitely be racing hard to get in the Dash 4 Cash spots and win all that money but, right now, the points are more important.”

 You’ve been highly involved in education and bringing more focus to younger fans this year. What is the importance of encouraging younger fans to get an education and learn about racing?

“It’s awesome to teach kids about the science behind racing because it can directly relate to what they learn in school. Learning the science side of racing can make it more interesting, too. Kids are the future of this sport, so it’s important to teach them more about racing.”

So far this season your finishes at Daytona, Phoenix, Fontana and Bristol have not been indicative of how well you’ve run. How confident are you knowing that your Haas Automation crew can put together such a fast Ford Mustang week after week?

 “I’m bringing a lot of confidence to Richmond because our team has built such fast Ford Mustangs each week. I feel like we’re really getting our short-track package together. I’m confident our Haas Automation team will be strong again this week.”

Jeff Meendering, Crew Chief Q&A 

What are your thoughts on racing at Richmond?

 “I’m excited to go to Richmond. Cole had a good run there last year in the XFINITY race and I’ve been on several different teams that have had good runs at that track. Richmond takes a similar setup to Phoenix, where we were in line to have a good finish until we were involved in an accident toward the end of the race.”

Knowing that the Haas Automation crew has put together a strong car every week but has been involved in unfavorable circumstances, what will it take to get a solid finish at Richmond?

“I don’t think we need to change anything we’re doing. If we keep unloading fast cars off the truck every week, we will start getting the finishes this team and Cole deserve.”

Cole Custer Finishes 32nd at Bristol

Haas Automation Driver Collected in Late-Race Accident While Running Third

Date: April 22, 2017
Event: Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 (Round 7 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)
Format: 300 laps, broken into three stages (85 laps/85 laps/130 laps)
Start/Finish: 3rd/32nd (Accident, completed 262 of 300 laps)
Point Standing: 12th (130 points, 130 out of first)
Race Winner: Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-85):

•  Started third, finished sixth to earn five stage points.
• Car was tight in the center and exit of the corners throughout Stage 1.
• Ran the majority of the stage on the bottom groove, noting that his Ford Mustang was “quicker down low.”
• Stage 1 ended under caution after an incident in turn two gave Custer a shot at the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 86-170):     

•  Started ninth, finished ninth to earn two stage points.
• Ran in and around the top-10 while saying his car was loose on landing into the corner and tight off.
• A red flag caution due to rain delayed the race for 1 hour, 38 minutes with Custer in 11^th-position.
• Before restarting, Custer took four tires and chassis adjustments to restart in 12^th-place with three laps before the end of the stage. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 171-300):          

•  Started ninth, finished 32nd.
• In the beginning of Stage 3, Custer found quicker speeds running the high groove.
• After a lap-219 caution, Custer opted to pit and take four fresh tires with a track bar adjustment. He restarted in ninth.
• Custer battled his way up to third place before another caution on lap 245.
• Custer restarted in third on lap 260 and was collected in an accident on lap 262 which damaged the right-front suspension beyond repair. Custer was forced to take his Haas Automation Ford Mustang to the garage and out of the race.

Notes:              

• Custer’s third-place finish in Stage 1 made him Dash 4 Cash eligible.
• Custer qualified third to earn his career-best NASCAR XFINITY Series starting spot.
• Custer earned a total of seven stage points.

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

Strong race, and the finish is not indicative of how you ran. How do you feel about your overall performance today?

“We had a really fast Haas Automation Ford Mustang and we were going forward. I think we could’ve definitely won the Dash 4 Cash and maybe had a shot at the win. It just sucks. We’ve had a couple instances like this and it’s like we just can’t do anything about it this year. We’ll move on. We’ve got fast cars and we’ll try to get some solid finishes.” 

Next Up:          

The next event on the NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule is the Richmond 250 on Saturday, April 29 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.

Date: April 8, 2017
Event: My Bariatric Solutions 300 (Round 6 of 33)
Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)
Start/Finish: 6th/5th (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 12th (118 points, 107 out of first)
Race Winner: Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: William Byron of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):

•  Started 6th, finished 13th.
• Custer noted his car was free on entry and tight in the center and exit of Turns 1 and 2.
• The Haas Automation driver turned top-four lap speeds just before the conclusion of Stage 1.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):       

•  Started 4th, finished 15th.
• Custer squeezed his way through an accident untouched on lap 67 and restarted in the 10^th position after opting not to pit.
• At the conclusion of Stage 2, Custer pitted for four fresh tires and adjustments.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):

•  Started 6th, finished 5th.
• On lap 148, Custer opted to pit to take four more tires and came off of pit road in the ninth position.
• Custer was able to find clean air in the lower groove enabling him to race to a top-five finish.
• The Haas Automation driver ran as high as second during the final stage.

Notes:              

• This marks Custer’s first top-five and season-best finish at Stewart-Haas Racing.
• Custer was the highest finishing rookie, earning him his second Sunoco Rookie of the Race award this season.
• His fifth-place finish was his second-best XFINITY Series career finish.
• Custer’s teammate, Kevin Harvick finished in third place.

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

How do you feel about your season-best performance at Texas Motor Speedway?
“We had an awesome Haas Automation Ford Mustang, we just had to buy our time. We kept getting stuck on the outside on the restarts and had to wait and wait until we got track position on the bottom. We had a really strong run. I can’t thank everybody enough who made this happen. I feel like I am getting more and more comfortable as I get experience and used to racing everybody. We are making strides, both me and the team.”

What kind of momentum will this give you going forward?
“I think it will be really important for us. We had pretty solid cars the last couple weeks and even at Atlanta we had a good car. We just haven’t been able to finish well until today. It was me making mistakes and just having random things happen. If we can keep these solid runs going we will work our way back up in the points. I feel like we can do this. We have had fast cars the last couple of weeks. We will just keep plugging away at it.”

How was it running with the Cup guys out there?
“You definitely learn a lot from them. It makes me want to push myself more. I have known we’ve had pretty fast cars and could compete with them, so I wasn’t overly shocked that we were up there. It was definitely a really good run that we needed with what has happened over the last couple of weeks.”