WATCH: An elated Tony Stewart celebrates Cole Custer’s Xfinity Series title triumph at Phoenix
Cole Custer won his maiden Xfinity Series championship on Saturday.
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Tony Stewart celibrating Cole Xusters win with SHR Crew (SS: Dustin Long/X)
Stewart Hass Racing’s Cole Custer made a statement on Saturday night as he won the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series title after a three-wide battle in the last lap at overtime. It was nothing but redemption for the No:00 Ford driver, who was demoted to the Xfinity series last season following three disappointing seasons in the Cup series.
On the final overtime restart, Custer lined up against John Hunter Nemechek and Justin Allgaier. He lost the lead coming to turn one and dropped to P3. The Toyota driver lost the lead to Allgaier on Turn One, but the JRM driver couldn’t hold on to it long enough, as Cuter overtook him at the backstretch to win the race with a 0.601s advantage
The SHR pit-box was overjoyed when he took the lead and crossed the start-finish line. Their Cup championship-winning co-owner Tony Stewart was present with them to celebrate the joyful occasion. He was spotted hugging the crew and punching in the air as Custer took home his maiden NASCAR title.
The win is sure a special occasion for Custer and the whole SHR team. Their Cup team has been poor the whole season, and barring a handful of races, they were never in conversation for a win this year. They will also see two of their vetran drivers, Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola, retiring from the sport, which puts them in a tough spot for 2024.
#NASCAR … Tony Stewart’s reaction as Cole Custer won the race and the Xfinity championship. pic.twitter.com/Pu4WmeZRxV
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) November 5, 2023
For Custer, it was redemption as he secured the title and proved he deserved to return to the Cup series. It can also be defined as a small revenge as well, as replacing Custer with Ryan Preece was a decision Stewart was deeply involved in. Custer will most probably remain in the Xfinity series, as announced ahead of the finale, but a potential Cup return is a possibility.
Cole Custer parsed his SHR team for the impressive triumph
Custer thanked his team for the support after the rocky start to the season they have had. He pointed out that the struggle made them dig deeper to find solutions, and that helped them to deliver on the track.
Man, I can’t say enough about these guys (his Stewart Haas team). We started the year off, and it was a struggle, we had to kind of dig deep with each other, really talk about how to get better, and to see how much this group has grown through the year.
Custer said, as reported by RACER.
The race was another refreshing event for the fans after the embarrassing wreck-fest of a finale in the Truck series. It was a clean race till the end, with the championship chasers going at each other in the final laps. Fans will expect a similar race product in the Cup finale as well.
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Justin P Joy
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