Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):
● Custer started fourth, finished seventh and earned four bonus points.
● Due to a penalty from the pole sitter, Custer started the race in the third position.
● He noted loose-handling conditions that caused him to fall to seventh place after seven laps.
● Custer pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments at the end of the stage.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):
● Custer started seventh, finished 13th.
● Custer noted that his previous loose-handling conditions were shifting to become tighter.
● After a lap-79 caution, Custer pitted for four fresh tires, fuel and more adjustments.
● He restarted 13th and piloted his car in that position until the end of the stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):
● Custer started third, finished ninth.
● Custer ran as high as second place in the final stage.
● Due to handling issues, Custer fell outside the top-five.
● He pitted under green-flag conditions on lap 163 for four tires and fuel.
● After a final caution on lap 178, he restarted in eighth place and ran inside the top-10 before the checkered flag waved.
Notes:
● This marks Custer’s 14th top-10 of the season and second at New Hampshire.
● Seven cautions slowed the race for 33 laps.
● Only 18 of the 40 drivers finished on the lead lap.
● Christopher Bell won the Lakes Region 200 to score his third career Xfinity Series victory, third of the season and first at New Hampshire. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was .416 of a second.
Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing With Biagi-DenBeste:
“We fought it all day. We weren’t the best on the short run or the long run, so it was a struggle. We did whatever we could to keep track position and we did a good job there. We’ll try and make it better, but this is definitely not our strong suit.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the U.S. Cellular 250 on Saturday, July 28 at Iowa Speedway in Newton. The race starts at 5 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.
TSC PR/Photo Credit Robert Laberge/Getty Images
