The monkey’s off Cole Custer‘s back.
Custer finally entered the win column for 2024 after claiming Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway.
The No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing driver passed Justin Allgaier with about 10 laps left and held onto the lead through two restarts en route to his first win of the season.
Custer came in leading the points standings, but a win ensures his place in the playoffs. It’s a pivotal moment for the defending Xfinity champion, adding playoff points and limiting the stress of winning for the remaining regular season races.
It also helps to show teams that he’s worthy of a return to the Cup Series. Custer has 14 wins in Xfinity, with half of them coming in 2019. He also has a series-best eight top fives and 15 top 10s this year; Austin Hill is the closest in top-10 finishes with 12.
Custer is a proven talent and has a win in Cup already at Kentucky Speedway. If he’s not the favorite for the Haas Factory Team entry next year, he should be.
Winners
It was the thrill of victory for Custer and the agony of a second-place finish for Allgaier. The JR Motorsports veteran was visibly disappointed with the result after the race, sharing his feelings with NBC Sports.
In doing so Allgaier showed himself to be a true racer – he wanted to take the win for his team. There’s nothing wrong with that. The driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet stayed classy afterward, congratulating Custer in his interview.
That’s no surprise. Should we expect anything but class from the veteran from Illinois?
I think some other drivers need to take some lessons from Allgaier in this regard. But I digress.
Looking ahead, Allgaier heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he won on the oval in 2018. The cars certainly run different from six years ago, but his talent hasn’t changed. Can he kiss the bricks again?
In third was the No. 17 of William Byron, who rebounded from a flat tire earlier in the race. Byron was able to battle Custer and Allgaier for first in the final laps. It’s good practice for the Hendrick Motorsports star to as he tries to get back on the right track in the Cup Series. Byron has four results of 15th or worse in the last six Cup races.
Another overcomer was AJ Allmendinger in sixth. The veteran’s No. 16 went sliding around on the apron after contact with Ryan Sieg around lap 50. No caution came out, leaving Allmendinger driving along on the other side of…
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