Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-35):
● Custer started fourth, finished third. Earned eight bonus points.
● Custer piloted the Haas Automation Ford to the second position by lap two.
● During the stage, he noted visibility and handling issues due to sand on the windshield and tight-handling conditions.
● After a lap-33 caution, the stage concluded under caution. He pitted for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 36-70):
● Custer started third, finished sixth. Earned five bonus points.
● Custer fell to the sixth position during the restart, but battled back to third place on lap 48.
● On lap 69, the caution flag was raised due to a cut tire on the No. 42 car, ultimately ending Stage 2 under caution.
● He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments, and gained one position on pit road.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 71-150):
● Custer started fifth, finished sixth.
● Custer piloted his Haas Automation Ford Mustang in and around the top-five until a lap-96 caution.
● During the caution, crew chief Jeff Meendering radioed Custer to the pits for four tires, fuel andchassis adjustments.
● Custer climbed to as high as second and ran inside the top-10 before another caution on lap 139. He pitted for four tires and fuel.
● Custer restarted in the third position behind a car on older tires. As a result, he was caught in traffic and battled just outside of the top-five before the conclusion of the race.
Notes:
● This was Custer’s second NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway.
● This marks Custer’s first top-10 at Auto Club and third top-10 of the season.
● This was Custer’s third straight top-10.
● Custer earned 13 bonus points in the Roseanne 300.
● Only 22 of the 40 drivers finished on the lead lap.
● Seven cautions slowed the race for 32 laps.
● Joey Logano won the Roseanne 300 to score his 29th career Xfinity Series victory, first of the season and third at Auto Club Speedway. His margin of victory over second-place Justin Allgaier was 1.429 seconds.
Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing With Biagi-DenBeste:
“We had good speed today out of our Haas Automation Ford Mustang, but we got caught up there on the final restart behind the 39 car who was on old tires. I don’t know if we had enough to compete with the 22 car, but we definitely had a top-three car. It was a good day for the team and I’m glad we were able to put on a good race for my hometown fans.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the My Bariatrics Solutions 300 on Saturday, March 17 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX.
TSC PR/Photo Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
