Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):
● Cole Custer started 13th, finished ninth. Earned two bonus points.
● Piloted his Haas Automation Ford Mustang into the top-10 by lap 20.
● Noted a tight-handling condition, but managed to make a pass and gain one more position before the conclusion of the stage.
● Custer pitted for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments at the end of the stage.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):
● Started 11th, finished eighth. Earned three bonus points.
● Custer continued to fight a tight-handling condition at the beginning of the stage.
● Ran as high as seventh during Stage 2 until his car’s balance shifted to being loose.
● At the conclusion of the stage, pitted for four fresh tires, fuel and chassis adjustments.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):
● Started eighth, finished sixth.
● After a caution on lap 141, Custer pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments. He restarted in the 11th position.
● Custer drove to eighth place before a final caution on lap 160, where he pitted for four more tires and fuel to restart back in 11th position.
● With 40 laps to go, Custer powered his way through the field to finish just outside of the top-five.
Notes:
● Custer was the highest finishing rookie in the Drive for the Cure 300. It was his eighth rookie of the race award this season.
● Custer has earned the most points at 1.5-mile tracks among XFINITY Series drivers this season.
● Custer earned his 16th top-10 of the 2017 season, his 18th top-10 in 34 career XFINITY Series starts and his third top-10 at Charlotte.
● Custer’s sixth-place finish was his fourth-consecutive top-10 this season.
● Due to inclement weather, qualifying for the Drive for the Cure 300 was canceled. The field was set by owner points.
● This was the final race in the first round of the playoffs. Custer advanced to the second round and is seeded fifth.
● There were eight caution periods for 43 laps in the Drive for the Cure 300.
● Alex Bowman won the Drive for the Cure 300 to score his first career XFINITY Series victory. His margin of victory over second-place Sam Hornish Jr. was 1.390 seconds.
Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“It was a really good night for us. We got our car better. We didn’t have the track position that we wanted, so I think we were more of a third- or fourth-place car, but our Haas Automation Mustang was really solid tonight. I was happy with the improvements we made through the weekend, so I’m looking forward to the next round. It’s going to be a dogfight, that’s for sure. Everybody in this next round has a lot of speed. I think if we can win a race it’s going to be huge. It will be tough, but we just have to really be on our game and fire on all cylinders.”
Playoff Standings:
1. William Byron (3,026 points)
2. Justin Allgaier (3,023 points, -3)
3. Elliott Sadler (3,020 points, -6)
4. Daniel Hemric (3,009 points, -17)
5. Cole Custer (3,007 points, -19)
6. Brennan Poole (3,006 points, -20)
7. Ryan Reed (3,005 points, -21)
8. Matt Tifft (3,004 points, -22)
Failed to advance to the Round of 8
9. Brendan Gaughan (2,079 points)
10. Michael Annett (2,058 points)
11. Blake Koch (2,055 points)
12. Jeremy Clements (2,052 points)
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule is the Kansas Lottery 300 on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Kansas Speedway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC.
TSC PR/Photo Getty Images for NASCAR
