NASCAR held its Xfinity Series Playoff Media Day on Tuesday, September 24, where Ford drivers Cole Custer and Riley Herbst participated in remote Q&A sessions with the media. Custer is the defending series champion while Herbst is looking for his first title. Here are their respective availability sessions.
COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse – A FEW DRIVERS HAVE WON CONSECUTIVE SERIES CHAMPIONSHIPS. WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO WIN TWO STRAIGHT? “It would be huge. I think it would mean a ton to everybody at our organization with everything that’s gone on this season. Everybody has worked so hard and has had every excuse to not have a great year, so I feel like everybody has stayed together extremely well. We’ve been able to put really fast cars on the racetrack and, like you said, going back-to-back championships is something that’s a definite statement. It’s something that’s really cool to do and we have such a great opportunity to accomplish that this year, and you just don’t get many once in a lifetime opportunities like that, so we want to put everything that we can into it to try and make it happen.”
IT FEELS LIKE FEAST OR FAMINE FOR THE 00 LATELY. HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT OUT AND FIND THAT POSITIVE SUCCESS TO KEEP YOU TOWARD THE TOP OF THE STANDINGS? “We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing, I feel like, and at the same time just trying to stay clean. I feel like we’ve had really fast cars that can go run up front every weekend, we’ve just had a lot of stupid stuff happen the last month and a half. Bristol was a race where we turned that all around. We were able to have a really fast car and be able to get a win, so hopefully we can take that into the playoffs and have a good first round.”
IS THERE ANY EXTRA SENTIMENT RIDING ON THESE LAST SEVEN RACES BEFORE YOU HEAD BACK TO CUP? “Yeah, I think so for sure. I’m really excited about the Cup car next year and getting that opportunity again, but these guys that I’ve raced with in the Xfinity Series, this 00 team, has been unbelievable, so to do this with these guys and compete for another championship, just to look back at the things we’ve accomplished really means a ton. I can’t thank them enough and hopefully can put this all together and end it out strong.”
WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON YOUR FIRST TOUR WITH CUP, IS THERE A PART OF YOU THAT CAN MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT IT WAS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU FROM A CONFIDENCE STANDPOINT? “Yeah, I think so, for sure. I think it definitely gives you some confidence that you can go out there and win again and win championships. I think at the same time it gave me an opportunity to truly grow to become more of a leader and be able to work with your team better to try and get the feel of the car that you need every single weekend, so pretty much anybody in the Cup Series can go fast if the car is right, but you have to really work with your team and really have a great group that can get that car consistently fast how you need it and then you can go out there and really compete in the playoffs and hopefully have a deep run. I’ve tried to work on all those things, to try and work with your team better and try and become more of a leader and I think we can definitely put something strong together for next year.”
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF AUSTIN HILL? “Obviously, we got together at Charlotte earlier this year, but at the end of the day I don’t have a problem with Austin. We’ve moved on from that and I feel like we’ve always raced each other really well, for the most part, so I don’t have a problem with Austin. He’s somebody who definitely gets the most out of his cars as the driver and he’s good competition, for sure.”
HOW DOES THAT CHAMPIONSHIP A YEAR AGO HELPED YOU FOR THIS SEASON? “I think it just gives you a lot of confidence that you’ve kind of been there and done that a little bit, so we just know how to attack the rounds and what you’re looking for in these rounds so at the end of the day you just have confidence in your team that you guys can go out there and do it. We just have to go out there and be consistent and we should have a good shot at it.”
WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO WIN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP THIS SEASON? “I think it’s one of those things that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win championships in NASCAR and go out there and try and win back-to-back championships. That’s something that you might not get ever again in your life, so to put everything we can into it right now is what we need to do and that’s what we’re gonna do. I think we have a huge opportunity in front of us and we’re gonna try and get it.”
HOW DO DRIVERS RACE IN THE PLAYOFFS COMPARED TO THE REGULAR SEASON? “Your focus level, I think, is definitely maybe a little bit up. I don’t think you’re trying harder. At the end of the day, if you tried harder during the regular season, you’d probably wreck. For the most part, you’re just trying to focus more and be more in-tune with everything as much as you can, not that we don’t do that every single weekend, but you’re just trying to have that little bit extra push. At the end of the day, how aggressive some guys are really changes week to week and round to round, just depending on what your point situation is. If you have a good cushion, you’re probably gonna go out there just trying not to wreck and probably just try and get some good points, and if you’re somebody who is below the cut line or in a must-win, you’re gonna be out there really aggressive, being really hard on people with trying to get every single point that you can get, so it just really depends on what your situation is.”
DO YOU KIND OF KNOW HOW THEY’LL RACE IF YOU’RE AWARE OF THAT, OR ARE YOU STILL SURPRISED BY IT AT TIMES? “I would say, yeah, you learn that you really can’t ever expect what you expect. You can try and think about how guys are gonna race, but at the end of the day some guys are just aggressive no matter what and some guys are a little more conservative, but it can change so you just have to kind of stay on top of your toes and focus on yourself.”
ARE YOU PRETTY CONSISTENT WITH HOW YOU RACE? “I would say I’m a little bit more consistent, I guess I would say. When you get in those must-win situations, that’s where you have to really try and make something happen, but, for the most part, you just take one step at a time and put in some good work, you’re gonna find yourself in a good spot.”
WHAT IS THE PERSPECTIVE A YEAR AFTER WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “I think the biggest thing is having the story now of going back to the Cup Series and now it’s almost looking back at what we’ve done and what we’ve built with this 00 team and everybody that’s been on it. I think that’s definitely really cool to have that stat as a champion and we really want to be back-to-back champions, but it’s something really cool to look back on of what we’ve done in the last year and a half, two years, and I think it’s definitely something you’ll remember the rest of your life.”
ANYTHING FROM THAT DAY IN PHOENIX THAT STILL STANDS OUT? “Definitely that final restart. That’s one of those deals where you really don’t know how it’s all gonna work out. Late race restarts, it can go your way or it won’t, but to have it all work out the way it did and finally get that championship means a lot. There’s just so many things that had to go right to win that championship. It’s pretty amazing to look back at that.”
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO GUYS WHO MIGHT BE IN A SIMILAR BOAT AS YOU, WHO HAVE TO GO FROM CUP BACK TO XFINITY TO REINVENT THEMSELVES? “I think at the end of the day you still have to find ways to make yourself better. I think my first time in Cup there were things I did good, I felt like, but at the end of the day there were definitely things I felt I could have done better like working with my team and being more of a leader, so I think going back to the Xfinity Series was great for me to try and work on those things. Winning a championship after that was huge, so I think it’s just one of those things that you just don’t go out there and do Xfinity, try to work on it, try to make yourself better doing Xfinity. I think that’s probably the biggest thing.”
RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW HAS THE SHR DECISION AFFECTED YOU GUYS ON THE XFINITY SIDE VERSUS THE CUP SIDE? “Yeah, for a few reasons. I feel like one of them is because more than likely the Xfinity program, as you guys know it over at Stewart-Haas Racing, is kind of staying together. It’s still two teams next year, but they also kind of wanted to send me and Cole out on good terms and we had a set of goals and expectations and standards, which we started the year with in January, and then once the rumbling came about through March and early May we had to kind of batten down the hatches and had to get the whole shop together and focus on what our goals were for the two of us – me and Cole speaking – and obviously there were gonna be people leaving just because they were very uncertain about their futures, so it was a little tough there through the summer months, but we got people to rally behind me and Cole and they continued to work really hard. I think that speed is showing up now more than ever it has before, so that’s good and hopefully we can build some momentum for us on the 98 team this weekend at Kansas and start getting this thing back in the right direction and make a deep run.”
HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT DOES IT MAKE WHEN EVERYBODY BUYS INTO WHAT YOU’RE DOING? “It’s huge. Obviously, there was never really concern with the head of the leadership of the 98 team with Davin. I knew me and him were in unison on every step of the way, but it was more of the people in the shop – the mechanics – if they had offers from other teams and trying to have them stay and be a part of this 98 team and we were building something special and I still think we are, so I’m glad that a lot of them stuck around and most of them stuck around to help us fight for this championship and help us fight in these playoffs and see where it takes us.”
HAVE YOU FELT ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SUPPORT YOU’VE GOTTEN VERSUS THE SUPPORT COLE’S GOTTEN SINCE COLE IS STAYING IN THE HAAS FAMILY AND NOTHING HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR YOU YET? “I don’t think there was any question or thought process through my head about the equipment or the support I was getting from Stewart-Haas Racing. I have all the confidence in the world in Davin, my crew chief. I think that we have extremely equal race cars when we show up at the racetrack each week. I think that even some weeks, I think that the 98 just unloads better and has more speed than the 00, but I don’t think the 00 would be where they are without the 98, and I don’t think the 98 would be where they are without the 00. So, I think the equipment, they’re built right next to each other. They use the same cars, same parts, same pieces, so that was never a question in my head. We have the same stuff and we both have fast race cars.”
ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN WHAT YOU’RE DOING NEXT YEAR OR ARE THERE STILL QUESTIONS? IS IT A DISTRACTION AT ALL? “Not confident by any means. Distraction-wise, I think it weighs on all of us a little bit. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. Hopefully, things kind of sort themselves out here in the meantime future, but I can’t worry about that now. I have to worry about the 98 team and try to get the best results we can this weekend at Kansas to put ourselves even higher about the cut line. It’s been a little bit of a distraction, but I’m not too confident in what’s gonna happen next year.”
WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS 98 TEAM IN THE PLAYOFFS? “Last year, it was frustrating but my goal in January last year was not to make the playoffs. I’ve done that before twice and had no success and got bounced in the first round. My goal in January of last year was to win a race, and so as disappointed as it looked from the outside to not make the playoffs, it was obviously a little bit frustrating, but once I got that win at Vegas, that was my goal. Obviously, I wish it would have came sooner so that we would have made the playoffs, but it wasn’t a lack of sleep because I didn’t make the playoffs last year. It was gonna be a lack of sleep if I didn’t win because I knew time was running out. My sand dial was definitely running out, but luckily we got the win and that was very, very big. As far as this year, we definitely have expectations and goals that we set in January and a lot of those are kept in Davin’s room and that’s kind of between us, but I will say that it’s to go further in the playoffs than I have before. That’s all I’m really gonna get into about that, but I feel like we can achieve those goals and we should be just fine if we execute to a high level, which I know we can.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL YOU’VE PROGRESSED SINCE YOU CAME INTO THE XFINITY SERIES TO THIS POINT? “I feel like I’ve progressed leaps and bounds. I don’t think that there’s a driver in the top three national series that has made more gains or progressed faster than I have. Actually, I take that back. I don’t think that they have progressed as much as I have just looking back and watching races from 2020, even 2019 when I made limited starts. I’ve definitely become a different race car driver and a different person, so I’m proud of that aspect of no matter what happens I’m proud of the fact that I’ve grown and become a better race car driver. I obviously think that there’s a long way to go from where I want to be, but I’ve grown a lot and hopefully I can take that growth into the playoffs and use it to my advantage.”
DO YOU FEEL EVERYTHING MOVED TOO QUICKLY AS FAR AS MOVING UP? WHAT LED TO THIS GROWTH AND WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO DO TO SUCCEED WHILE OTHERS HAVE FALTERED? “I think there’s a lot to that question. The first is, which a lot of people on the outside don’t understand yet and I don’t expect them to understand, but it’s not just the driver’s choice on what they do and where they go racing in this series. There’s a lot of outside indications and sponsors and obligations and things and timelines, so to go to the Xfinity Series in 2020, I felt like that was one thing, but then the world got affected by COVID, so to lose all of the rookie test sessions, to lose all the practices, that was a double-fist blow right there to a young driver like myself. I also think that when you hop in that 18 car, obviously, there are expectations to win. I mean, that’s the same thing that they expect the 18 car to do now is go win, so I didn’t shy away from that, but I also wanted everybody to understand that I was extremely, extremely knew and it was gonna take time, but time was of the essence and we didn’t really have that over there. So, my home at Stewart-Haas Racing, they allowed me to grow. They knew that I was extremely inexperienced and extremely green and they were willing to grow with me and to see what I’ve become today is something I’m proud of and I’m proud of Stewart-Haas Racing for standing behind me when they could have stepped aside for sure.”
HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THIS SEASON ON THE WHOLE? “Me and Davin were actually talking last week, the final five races of last year we were the highest point scorer out of everybody in the field. If we were in the playoffs, that would have put us into Phoenix in the final four, so we know we can do it when we execute. We know we have fast enough cars to go do it. We have the speed, so our expectations were high starting in January and I felt like we were matching some of it. Obviously, the win total wasn’t where we want it to be right now, and obviously there was a letdown these last four weeks or so through the late part of summer. We just weren’t executing. We weren’t on our game, albeit myself, the car, wrecks. It doesn’t matter, but we just weren’t finishing where we were supposed to be. We were knocking on the door. I think we were fourth in the points going into the summer break and now we’re coming into the playoffs eighth, so that was kind of frustrating for all of us to wrap our heads around, but I kind of took it as a good thing, as kind of a wake-up call. We kind of took some things for granted and now we know the work we have to do to get back to where we were supposed to be and it starts this week at Kansas.”
WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE TO GROW AS A DRIVER WITH DAVIN AS YOUR CREW CHIEF AND MANAGING THE UPS AND DOWN OF THIS SERIES? “I think that’s a good question. There’s always gonna be ups and downs in life and especially in racing. Davin has done a good job with me at managing my emotions and trying to keep me even keel, not get too high, not get too low, especially after the weekend we just had at Bristol, where it was pretty dismal. He did a good job of keeping me level headed in the race car and after the race of keeping me level-headed and focused on Kansas, so he’s done a really good job with myself and keeping me in the right place mentally. I’m excited for the next seven races and I think if we execute to our ability, we’ll have a real shot at this thing, so I’m eager to get to Kansas and start racing.”
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