COLE CUSTER | RILEY HERBST
Phoenix NASCAR Xfinity Series Advance
NASCAR Xfinity Series Overview
• Event: United Rentals 200 (Round 4 of 33)
• Date: Saturday, March 11
• Location: Phoenix Raceway
• Layout: 1-mile oval
• Time/TV/Radio: 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Cole Custer Notes of Interest
• As this year’s West Coast Swing comes to an end with Saturday’s United Rentals 200, Cole Custer would like nothing more than to pick up where he left off in his most recent NASCAR Xfinity Series outing at Phoenix Raceway in November 2019. At the same time, the driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) and his team look to garner as much information as they can this weekend with their eyes also focused on their return to the desert mile oval 29 races hence, when they hope to be battling for the Xfinity Series championship during the Nov. 4 season finale.
• The United Rentals 200 will be Custer’s seventh Xfinity Series start at Phoenix. After a 21st-place finish in his debut at the track in March 2017, he went on to never finish worse than eighth in his next five Xfinity Series starts there, highlighted by a second-place finish in the November 2019 race. Custer also has 12 starts outside of the Xfinity Series at Phoenix – six in the Cup Series with a best finish of ninth in March 2020, three in the Truck Series with a best finish of third in November 2014, and three in the K&N Pro Series West. His victory from the pole in March 2014, when he led a race-high 62 of 80 laps, was his best of his three K&N Pro Series West outings, with finishes of third and sixth in the other two starts.
• Custer’s return to the Xfinity Series has been a roller coaster in terms of results, but the speed in his Haas Automation Mustang has been evident each of the first three weekends. He earned a ninth-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, his best finish at the track. The following week at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, he won the opening two stages and led 46 laps before a cut right-front tire relegated him to a 27th-place finish. Last weekend at Las Vegas, Custer qualified third but was forced to start from the rear of the field after going to a backup car due to damage sustained from the Fontana race. He worked his way up to 12th, where he finished the race, despite struggling with the balance of his No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang. Custer is currently seventh in the Xfinity Series points standings.
Riley Herbst Notes of Interest
• Riley Herbst will feel right at home at the desert-mile oval of Phoenix Raceway this weekend. The third-generation racer from just up the road in Las Vegas has taken his family name from the iconic off-road events of the Desert Southwest to the asphalt tracks of NASCAR. He began racing go-karts up and down the West Coast at age 5. He soon followed in his family’s footsteps in 2006 when he transitioned to off-road racing, where his grandfather Jerry, his dad Troy, and his uncles Tim and Ed, all became Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame inductees after their numerous championship-winning campaigns. But by age 10, Herbst sought a return to pavement, which began with Legends cars, then transitioned to Speed Trucks, Super Late Models, the K&N Series, NASCAR Trucks Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Cup Series. Last weekend, FOX aired a feature story highlighting the Herbst family motorsports legacy, and third-generation racer’s story about breaking away from the off-road scene. Watch it HERE.
• Saturday’s race will mark Herbst’s eighth career Xfinity Series start at Phoenix, which has proven to be one of his better tracks. After an early race accident in his series debut there in November 2019 earned him a 30th-place result, Herbst finished 11th or better in his next four Phoenix starts, highlighted by fourth-place finishes in both the March and November 2021 events. He earned a seventh-place finish in the series’ latest visit to Phoenix for last November’s season finale. Herbst also finished 10th in his lone NASCAR K&N Pro Series West start at the track in November 2019, and 15th in his only NASCAR Truck Series start there in November 2018.
• With three races down this season, Herbst is continuing the momentum he closed the season with in 2022. He is one of four Xfinity Series drivers to finish in the top-10 in every race so far this season, joining Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, and Justin Allgaier. After running in the top-three for a majority of the season opener at Daytona, the Monster Energy driver avoided mayhem in the final laps to finish sixth. When the series rolled into Fontana two weekends ago, he ran in the top-10 for most of the day before finishing seventh. Last weekend in his hometown of Las Vegas, he was putting down some of the fastest lap times on his way to a seventh-place finish. He is currently fifth in the Xfinity Series points standings.
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang
You’re heading into the final race of the West Coast swing at Phoenix Raceway. Talk about your expectations.
“Phoenix means a lot just because it’s where the championship race takes place. You want to have a strong spring race there so you can take it into the fall race. It’s the first short-track race of the year, so we’ll see where we’re at as a team at that point. I’ve done well there in the past, so hopefully we can find the speed and have a perfect day.”
Is there any extra pressure heading into Phoenix knowing that the championship race will be held there in November and you could very well be racing for the title?
“You definitely put a little more emphasis on Phoenix at this time of the year just because you know how big this race will be when we return in November. It’s a race that means a lot later in the year, and you never know if you’ll be one of the ones racing for a championship or not. You’re always going to bring the best you’ve got to a race, but there might be a little more pressure to get it right this time so you can be as perfect as possible later on.”
Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
After a solid run at Las Vegas last weekend, you’re heading to Phoenix, which has been one of your stronger tracks. You finished fourth in both races there in 2021 and came back to finish seventh in last year’s season finale. What are your goals heading into the race this weekend?
“The goal is to win. Always. Phoenix is no exception. We obviously want to keep being consistent and running in the top-10, but we also want to get better. These guys deserve to go to victory lane, and we have the speed to get there. Phoenix is a fun racetrack, and I’ve had strong runs there in the past. You need to have a perfect day to make it to victory lane. Hopefully, we can figure out how to do just that this weekend. In addition, this is an important race in terms of preparing for the championship race at the end of the season. Anyone can make it to the Championship 4, so you always want to be prepared.”
You’ve been consistent to start the 2023 season with three straight top-10 finishes. How does kicking off the season with such consistency help you and the team?
“It’s a confidence booster, for sure. It just shows how much hard work we’ve put in the past two seasons and during the offseason. The addition of Cole Custer to the team only strengthens us more because he has so much knowledge and experience in the Xfinity Series. I think this will be a big year for us, and to kick off the season like this only gives us more hope. It proves that we can run well at a variety of tracks, as well.”
