Stewart-Haas Racing: Las Vegas NXS Advance (Cole Custer | Riley Herbst)

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

•  After a heart-breaking weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Cole Custer is ready to focus on parking his No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in victory lane after this Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Last weekend on the 2-mile Fontana oval, the 25-year-old driver from Ladera Ranch, California, led 46 laps and won the initial two stages before a cut right-front tire stole his chances of earning back-to-back wins at his home track. He ultimately finished 27th, one lap down.

•  While last weekend didn’t go as planned for Custer and the No. 00 team, he’s looking forward to heading to a style of track that has been one of his biggest strengths over the years – intermediate tracks. During his most recent fulltime Xfinity Series campaigns in 2017, 2018 and 2019, Custer scored six of his nine race wins on intermediate tracks – Nov. 18, 2017 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nov. 3, 2018 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, June 29, 2019 at Chicagoland Speedway, July 12, 2019 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Aug. 31, 2019 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, and Oct. 5, 2019 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.

Riley Herbst Notes of Interest

•  Last weekend marked his teammate’s home race, and this Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race takes place in Riley Herbst’s hometown. The 24-year-old, grew up in the Entertainment Capital of the World, and the family name is well known in Las Vegas motorsports circles. His grandfather Jerry, uncles Tim and Ed, and father Troy are all Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame inductees as championship-winning off-road racers. Now, the youngest Herbst continues his quest to keep the family’s motorsports legacy alive in the NASCAR world.

•  Saturday’s race will mark Herbst’s eighth career Xfinity Series start at Las Vegas. The Monster Energy driver has a pair of top-10s in his seven previous starts at the 1.5-mile oval, both of which were ninth-place runs in September 2019 and February 2020. In his most recent Las Vegas outings in 2022, he finished 14th in March and 18th in September.

 

•  With two races complete this season, Herbst is already on a roll. He picked up right where he left off in 2022 with a pair of top-10 finishes at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. After running in the top-three for a majority of the race two weekends ago at Daytona, Herbst perserved and avoided mayhem to finish sixth in the season-opening event. When the series rolled into California last weekend, he used strategy and speed to run in the top-10 for most of the day before ultimately finishing seventh. He hopes to build on that momentum in his hometown this weekend.

 

•  As Herbst seeks victory lane at Las Vegas, his No. 98 team at Stewart-Haas Racing already knows the way. With Chase Briscoe behind the wheel, the No. 98 team swept both races in 2020. Briscoe started second, led a race-high 89 laps, and beat runner-up Austin Cindric by 2.874 seconds in the February race. He then backed up that victory in September by starting on the pole, leading a race-high 164 laps, and beating runner-up Noah Gragson by 1.370 seconds.

 

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang

You were on a roll last weekend at Fontana, leading laps and winning the opening two stages before a cut right-front tire ruined your chance for the win. How do you recover from a race like that and bounce back?

“It’s tough, for sure. Our Ford Mustang was super fast and it was a car capable of winning. I think from Fontana, it gives us a lot of confidence that we can go out there and contend for the win in these races. It’s frustrating to get a finish like that, but we have all the tools to make it happen and get to victory lane. Now, we just need everything to fall into place.”

You’re heading to Las Vegas, where you’ve had some solid runs in the past. What’s the expectation heading into this weekend?

“Going into Vegas this weekend, it’s been a solid track for us. It’s been a place that we’ve wanted to improve at from the past with the Xfinity Series program. We’ve really worked on that this season by looking at old notes, working in the Ford simulator, and other forms of preparation. We’re hoping to have a good weekend there. The team has some good ideas on how to improve at Vegas, so we’ll try to do just that.”

Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

It’s time to head back to your hometown. What’s the feeling as you get ready to race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where luck hasn’t always been on your side?

“Anytime you head home, it’s exciting. We haven’t always had the best of luck in the No. 98 Ford Mustang at Las Vegas, but in 2022 we were able to persevere through some difficult situations to score decent finishes. I think we’ve learned a lot since then though. We’ve grown as a team, and I’ve grown as a driver. I’m hoping that we can showcase that when we go back this time and earn the finish that we deserve.”

You’re off to a strong start for 2023 and picking up where you left off in 2022 with back-to-back top-10s to start the season at Daytona and Fontana. Does that give you an extra boost of confidence as you start this long season?

“Yes and no. I think you have to take it one race at a time, but I’m obviously happy to start off the season strong like that. We haven’t always had that, and I think it’s a testament to the hard work that we put in together as a team. Having Cole Custer as a teammate has helped me out a lot as far as leaning on him for information or learning from him, but I think the No. 98 team in general has grown from that first season together in 2021. It helps build confidence to get these runs, but the ultimate goal is always victory lane. We’ll always be hungry for that.”

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