Cole Custer and the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford team battled handling issues and a tough track position all afternoon at Las Vegas, ultimately bringing home a 28th-place finish in Sunday’s 267-lap event. Custer rolled off 21st but quickly found the balance of his car too loose in the opening laps, dropping to 26th by lap 15 and reporting the car was edgy and unstable over the bumps.
The team made its first pit stop on lap 35 for four tires and fuel, opting to stay out a few extra laps before pitting. The strategy left Custer a lap down to the leader shortly after, and he cycled back to 31st once pit stops completed. A timely caution on lap 71 allowed Custer to take the wave around and regain lead-lap status, ultimately ending Stage One in 29th place.
Stage Two adjustments provided slight improvements to the car’s handling, particularly on initial restarts and over long runs. Custer hovered around 30th for much of the stage and briefly led a lap during the green-flag pit cycle before settling into 28th at the stage’s conclusion. The team made a wedge adjustment during the caution in hopes of continuing to dial in the balance for the final run.
In the closing stage, Custer restarted 30th but dropped a few spots as the field spread out and track position became increasingly difficult to recover. He continued to battle through a long green-flag stretch until a caution on lap 235 allowed the team to take a wave around to gain a lap back. Another quick caution helped him gain a few more positions, and Custer ultimately came home 28th to close out a challenging day in Las Vegas.
“Everyone fought hard all day, but Las Vegas hasn’t been our place both times this year,” Custer said. “We’ll learn from it and move on to Talladega and try to have a good race there.”
Up Next
Talladega Superspeedway (Talladega, AL)
The Xfinity Series – Saturday, October 18th at 4:00 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
The NASCAR Cup Series – Sunday, October 19th at 2:00 p.m. ET on NBC.
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