Cole Custer showed determination early at Charlotte Motor Speedway as he and his team worked to dial in the HaasTooling.com Ford during Stage One. After starting 18th, Custer focused on finding the right balance as the team looked for ways to give the car more drive off the corners and long-run speed. A pair of pit stops during the stage allowed the crew to address those challenges. The final stop came with only two laps remaining in the stage, and while Custer crossed the line 27th, he was in position to restart much higher.
Stage One strategy turned into Stage Two opportunity. The team flipped the stage, allowing Custer to restart seventh. He fought to maintain track position throughout the run, but as the laps wore on, tire wear became a factor. The team made a strategic pit stop to put on qualifying scuffs and regain grip. Custer’s perseverance paid off as he worked back through the field to finish the stage 10th — a 17-position swing from the conclusion of Stage One.
After pitting between stages, Custer restarted the final — and longest — segment in 24th. To close out the day, he sought more overall grip to attack corners more aggressively. A pit stop on lap 67 allowed the team to make further adjustments, but a speeding penalty on pit road forced a pass-through that shuffled his track position. Custer remained focused to the end, holding steady in the closing laps to bring the car home in 22nd.
“Overall I felt we had a solid Haas Tooling Ford Mustang, just wished we didn’t speed there at the end,” said Custer. I felt like we had a solid car and could’ve had a solid finish. I just put us to far behind with the speeding penalty. We’ll move on to the next one and try to rebound.”
Up Next
Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, NV)
The Xfinity series – Saturday, October 11th at 7:30pm on the CW Network.
The NASCAR Cup Series – Sunday, October 12th at 5:30pm on USA Network
HFT PR