Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-30):
● Cole Custer started fifth and finished 10th to earn one bonus point.
● Four laps into the race, Custer was running third in the HaasTooling.com Mustang when the race was halted due to rain.
● Once the event resumed, Custer battled in the top-10 with a loose-handling Mustang.
● The rookie driver ended the stage in 10th and visited pit road for fuel and four tires.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 31-86):
● Custer started in 20th and finished 15th.
● On the lap-39 caution, Custer reported that his Mustang was handling a little bit better. He didn’t pit and restarted 12th.
● Under caution once again on lap 46, Custer pitted from 11th for fuel and adjustments to help with his loose condition. Restarted 26th.
● On lap 57, the 22-year-old reported his Mustang was starting to get tight while running 18th.
● By lap 70, Custer was back in the top-15. He pitted under caution from 14th on lap 76 for fuel, four tires and adjustments. Restarted 18th.
● During the stage break, the HaasTooling.com driver stayed on the track.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 87-140):
● Custer started 11th, finished 17th.
● “It’s starting to come to me,” Custer radioed on lap 111 from eighth about his Ford Mustang.
● The rookie driver made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 115 while running eighth for right-side tires and fuel. Rejoined the field in 25th.
● As the race continued green, Custer kept advancing his position on the track.
● Custer finished the race 17th in the HaasTooling.com Mustang.
Notes:
● Custer was the highest finishing NASCAR Cup Series rookie.
● Denny Hamlin won the Pocono 350 to score his 41st career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading fourth of the season and his record-tying sixth at Pocono. His margin of victory over second-place Kevin Harvick was 3.068 seconds.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 31 laps.
● Only 17 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Harvick remains the championship leader after Pocono with a 52-point advantage over second-place Ryan Blaney.
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Thank you so much, guys. We got the car a lot better today. We definitely made gains and got the car better during the race. Well go get them next week.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 on Sunday, July 5 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race starts at 4 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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