Cole Custer Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The final race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season was held at Phoenix Raceway for the fifth straight year last Saturday. Cole Custer was looking to retain the championship, but had to deal with Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, and Austin Hill, who were all each going for their first title. As much as the championship battle was spotlighted, it was Riley Herbst who stole the show by winning the finale to cap off Stewart-Haas Racing’s NXS program. Behind Herbst was Allgaier, who was finally theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. — Stewart-Haas Racing assured they’re going to go out with a bang at Phoenix Raceway. As far as the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race, they certainly did with Riley Herbst having a career night, leading 167 of 213 laps en route to his second NXS win of the season. While Herbst had the thrill of victory, his SHR teammate Cole Custer dealt with the agony of defeat. The defending series champion was unsuccessful in his title defense as he finished eighth while Justin AllgaierRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. — Day two at Phoenix Raceway will be highlighted by NASCAR’s second highest division, as the NASCAR Xfinity Series wraps up its 2024 campaign by crowning its newest champion – three of which would be a first-time series champion. Twelve championship hopefuls started the six-week march to the Valley of the Sun, with only four drivers left standing to duel it out in the Arizona desert on Saturday night. It all comes down to a battle between JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, Kaulig Racing’s A.J.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. — Cole Custer enters the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway with a shot of going back-to-back. A bit lost in the shuffle is not only doing so to close out his Xfinity Series career, but to end an opportune chapter at Stewart-Haas Racing at the absolute top before the team closes up shop at weekend’s end. Custer will be moving back to Cup with the Haas Factory Team in 2025 and having the chance to close out his tenure at SHRRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Another night of tempers flaring at Martinsville Speedway featuring one driver’s bid of advancing into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 evaporates. Last night, it was a verbal confrontation between Taylor Gray and race winner Christian Eckes. Fast forward to Saturday night, it was a verbal confrontation with an attempted punch from Chandler Smith to Cole Custer after the National Debt Relief 250 concluded. Without a NASCAR ride in 2025, Chandler’s mission was simple — win and advance for a shot at a Xfinity Series championshipRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The pro wrestling sponsorship curse lives on after Cole Custer brought the No. 00 NXT on The CW Ford Mustang home in second during Saturday’s Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit Card 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Custer led 67 of 200 laps before Austin Hill, who led a race-high 82 laps, out ran the defending series champion during the final stretch of green flag competition. With 12 laps remaining, Hill passed Custer before entering the final corner and never looked back as he scored a career equalRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. – An emotional Austin Hill climbed out of his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet on the Homestead-Miami Speedway frontstretch to celebrate one of the most significant race wins of his burgeoning career – claiming the Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit Card 300 trophy Saturday and securing one of four positions to race for a trophy in the Nov. 9 series championship finale. Hill – who also swept both of the race’s stage wins – took the lead from Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer withRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS — It was the first NASCAR Xfinity Series trophy of the season for A.J. Allmendinger but the timing was on point, his Playoff win in Saturday’s Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway punching his ticket into next month’s season finale Championship race. The 42-year old Californian held off a hard-charging Ryan Sieg by a mere .156-second to claim his 18th career win – leading a race best 102 of the 201 laps in his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Allmendinger had toRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Worst to first. Sammy Smith and the No. 8 JR Motorsports team are heading to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs after winning Saturday’s United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. Smith came into the day at the bottom of the Playoff standings, some 23 points below the cut-off line, but with his victory on Saturday, he’s the first of the championship contenders to advance to the next round. “Just a great team. My sponsors, everybody that has stuck withRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS City, Kan.— Part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Aric Almirola ran down Playoff leader Cole Custer in the closing laps of Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway and pulled away for his second victory of the season in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. In a Round of 12 Playoff opener that ended with several unhappy drivers and a handful of post-race conversations between Playoff contenders, Almirola picked up his first win at the 1.5-mile track and the sixth of his career.Read More