Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi (SHR), is competing for his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The following are some anecdotes regarding the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series title contender.
● This is Custer’s second straight year in the Championship 4 at Homestead. He finished second to last year’s champion, Tyler Reddick.
● This is Custer’s third year in the Xfinity Series, and it’s proven to be a breakout campaign. The 21-year-old driver from Ladera Ranch, California, came into this season with two wins – one in 2017 and another in 2018. In 2019 alone, he has claimed seven victories, six poles, 16 top-fives, 23 top-10s and led 907 laps.
● Custer’s seven wins are the second-most this season, behind only Christopher Bell with eight wins.
● Custer’s six poles ties him with Bell for the most poles this season.
● Custer has led laps in 17 of the 32 Xfinity Series races run thus far in 2019. He has led the most laps in six races:
- Richmond Raceway in April (122)
- Dover International Speedway in May (155)
- Pocono Raceway in June (58)
- Chicagoland Speedway in June (151)
- Kentucky Speedway in July (88)
- Kansas Speedway in October (85)
● In three career Xfinity Series starts at Homestead, Custer has a pole (2018), a win (2017) and two top-two finishes. His only finish worse than second was a 17th-place result in his debut at the track in 2016. Custer has led 277 of the 600 laps available (46.2 percent). His average start at the 1.5-mile oval is 7.0, his average finish is 6.7 and he has finished on the lead lap in every start.
● If Custer wins the 2019 Xfinity Series championship, he would deliver the sixth driver title to Ford in the Xfinity Series.
- Greg Biffle (2002)
- Carl Edwards (2007)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2011-2012)
- Chris Buescher (2015)
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