AVONDALE, Ariz. – After an overtime restart that saw title contenders engage in a breathtaking three-wide battle down the backstretch, Cole Custer deftly negotiated a tightly bunched pack of cars to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race and the series title on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.
The victory was the third of the season for Custer, who returned to full-time Xfinity Series racing this year after a three-year stint in the NASCAR Cup Series that produced just a single victory.
“I thought it was over. I mean, I went from first to third and I was able to shift the car all night and the Doug Yates horsepower worked out and pulled me off the corner,’ said Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang. “I can’t believe we won that thing after returning to third on that (last) restart, but I can’t say enough about these guys. I mean, we started the year off and it was a struggle and we had to dig deep with each other and really talk about how to get better. To see how much this group has grown through the year and to be a part of something, I knew I wanted to work with JT (crew chief Jonathan Toney). I knew that he was the guy that could make it happen and I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else. I just can’t thank Gene Haas enough. He’s given me opportunities and I wouldn’t be here without him. I can’t thank him enough, and Ford Performance, Haas Automation, everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. It’s awesome to bring one back to Stewart-Haas right now. It means the world. Being so close a couple of times this year and how the last few years have gone, I mean, these guys still believe in me and have given me really fast racecars and just digging all year. We did such a great job just getting better and better every week. These guys just brought a rocket ship tonight. It’s a very proud moment winning this championship with these guys. I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else.”
But Custer proved his mettle after slipping from first to third in the running order moments after the final restart. Championship 4 driver John Hunter Nemechek held a fleeting lead but couldn’t turn his No. 20 Toyota in Turn 1 and lost the top spot to title contender Justin Allgaier.
Custer’s margin of victory over second-place Sheldon Creed was 0.601 of a second. Custer led four times for a race-high 96 laps to increase his laps-led total at Phoenix to 140.
SHR Race Finish:
- Cole Custer: Started 7th/Finished 1st; Running, completed 202 of 202 laps
- Riley Herbst: Started 9th/Finished 4th; Running, completed 202 of 202 laps
This is Custer’s first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. He finished runner-up in the standings in his most recent fulltime seasons in the series in 2018 and 2019.
This marks the second time Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has won an Xfinity Series championship. Custer delivered the owner’s title in 2018. It is also the seventh Xfinity Series championship for Ford and its second in the last four years after Austin Cindric won in 2020. Ford’s other champions include Greg Biffle (2002), Carl Edwards (2007), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2011-12), and Chris Buescher (2015).
Ford’s Mustang brand has earned a drivers’ or owners’ championship in all but three seasons since joining the Xfinity Series in 2011.
Custer’s victory marked SHR’s 25th Xfinity Series victory, its fourth of the season, and its first at Phoenix.
This was SHR’s 101st overall victory (69 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series wins, six non-points-paying NASCAR Cup Series wins, 25 Xfinity Series wins, and one ARCA Menards Series West win)
This was Custer’s 13th career Xfinity Series victory and his 12th with SHR his third victory of 2023 and his first win in eight career Xfinity Series starts at Phoenix.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the 2024 season opener on Feb. 17 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The race begins at 5 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
