Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-25):
● Cole Custer started 28th and finished 14th.
● At the lap-10 competition caution, Custer reported his HaasTooling.com Mustang needed more drive off. He didn’t pit and restarted 16th.
● On lap 19, Custer pitted from 24th under green to exchange his rain tires for slicks as the track surface began to dry.
● The next caution was displayed on lap 23 and the 22-year-old reported his Mustang felt okay. He didn’t pit and restarted 14th.
● Custer ended the stage in 14th and relayed his Mustang was a little tight on the last run, but he didn’t pit.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 26-50):
● Custer started 10th and finished 16th.
● On lap 35, Custer was in the sixth spot.
● He pitted from eighth under caution on lap 46 after reporting his Mustang was a little bit tight on the long run.
● In a sprint to the end of the stage, Custer restarted 18th and ultimately finished it in 16th. He didn’t pit during the break.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 51-109):
● Custer started ninth, finished ninth.
● Just after the green flag dropped on the stage, Custer received contact from another competitor which caused him to spin.
● The No. 41 Mustang’s water temperature began to rise due to debris on the grille.
● Custer pitted on lap 56 to address the issue and dropped to 33rd.
● On lap 65, Custer pitted from 32nd under caution for fuel, four tires and adjustments. He restarted 25th.
● During the next caution Custer visited pit road, and with 30 laps remaining the California native was in the 21st spot.
● Under caution once again on lap 87, Custer pitted from 19th and restarted in the same position.
● With less than 15 laps to go, another caution was displayed and Custer didn’t pit and restarted 11th.
● The Cup Series rookie worked his way up to a ninth-place finish.
Notes:
● Custer earned his seventh top-10 of the season and it came in his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at the Roval.
● Custer was the highest finishing NASCAR Cup Series rookie.
● Chase Elliott won the Bank of America Roval 400 to score his ninth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at the Roval. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was 3.895 seconds.
● There were nine caution periods for a total of 16 laps.
● Thirty-two of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kevin Harvick leaves the Roval as the championship leader with a 13-point advantage over second-place Denny Hamlin.
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“We had a lot of ups and downs today. The HaasTooling.com crew stuck with me today and the pit crew did a good job. I think we learned some things today with road courses that we can use in the future, which is a positive.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, Oct. 18 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. It is the seventh race of the 10-race playoffs and the first race in the Round of 8. It starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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