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

Cole Custer Notes of Interest

•  Cole Custer and the No. 00 Haas Automation team are rested and ready after the season’s fourth of five off weekends and look to continue their impressive streak of top-10 finishes in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the 1.33-mile oval of Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. In the series’ last race on June 10 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, Custer earned a sixth-place result for his eighth consecutive Xfinity Series top-10. The streak started April 1 with a fifth-place result at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. He went on to finish third April 15 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, fourth April 22 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, seventh April 29 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, third May 13 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, third May 29 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, and he won the June 3 race at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway. The eight consecutive top-10s, which include five top-five finishes, equals his career best Xfinity Series top-10 streak set in 2018 with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

•  Win and you’re in. That’s the mentality of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. In the past eight races, Custer was able to elevate himself from 10th in the driver standings to fourth, and he has secured his spot in the 12-driver playoff field with his victory at Portland. His eyes are now set on the regular-season championship, where his top-10 streak is helping him close the gap to points leader John Hunter Nemechek. Custer heads to Nashville 59 points behind Nemechek with 12 regular-season races to go.

Riley Herbst Notes of Interest

•  As a native of Las Vegas, Riley Herbst should feel right at home in Nashville as he heads to Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. The capital of Tennessee may be best known as Music City, but its bright lights and lively nightlife have earned it another nickname – “Nashvegas.” The fact that Nashville’s 1.33-mile concrete oval is an intermediate-style track makes Herbst feel even more at home. His history at intermediates is strong. His best career NASCAR Xfinity Series results have come at intermediates, where he owns a pair of second-place finishes – February 2020 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and July 2020 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. After some bad luck followed the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford team throughout the first half of the 2023 season, the team looks to get a fresh start at Nashville after an off weekend.

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

While you’re never been to Nashville in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, you do have two NASCAR Cup Series starts at the track. What are your expectations heading into the Tennessee Lottery 250?

“Nashville is a hard track. It’s a very disconnected racetrack, so you really have to be disciplined. Just like Sonoma, it’s a very easy track to overdrive and get yourself in some trouble. You really have to make sure as a driver that you’re hitting your marks. Hopefully with it being a concrete track, it can build some rubber and we can move around a bit. It’s definitely a unique track with how it’s shaped and how you have to drive it. I had some rough Cup races at this track, but hopefully we can take advantage of that full practice session on Friday to put it all together.”

With so many races coming up in this summer stretch, how do you and the team stay focused?

“This is the point in the season where we really have to put the gas pedal down and we have to start taking advantage of the momentum. We’ve really started to hit our stride here recently with the top-10s and the win at Portland, so it’s just about keeping that momentum going. We’ve put together everything we’ve needed and now it’s just about perfecting that each and every week. The No. 00 Haas Automation team is working hard, and we’re excited for these summer months.”

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

You should feel right at home in “Nashvegas” this weekend after growing up under the neon lights of Las Vegas. How excited are you to get back to Nashville Superspeedway for Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250, where you had such a strong weekend last year?

“I’m pumped to head back to Nashville again. The city itself is so much fun, but so is the racing at the superspeedway. I don’t know how to describe it, but the track works for my style of racing. This is a race that I had circled on the calendar for this summer after winning the pole and running well here last year. It can be a difficult track with how slick it can get in the summer heat, but you just have to put the pieces together at the end of the day. No mistakes, fast pit stops, and speed in the racecar.”

Nashville will mark your first race with new crew chief Davin Restivo. Talk about the change and your outlook for the rest of the season.

“First off, I want to congratulate Richard (Boswell, new SHR No. 14 crew chief) on being promoted up to the Cup Series. It’s bittersweet, but I’m happy for him to get this opportunity. I’m excited to work with Davin on the No. 98 Monster Energy team. It’s his first time as a crew chief, but I think that we can continue to grow this program. Hopefully, we can go to Nashville and start the second half of the season strong.”

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