STEWART-HAAS RACING
NASCAR Xfinity Series: The Loop 121
Date: July 1, 2023
Event: The Loop 121 (Round 16 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Chicago Street Course (2.2-mile, 12-turn street course)
Format: 55 laps, broken into three stages (15 laps/15 laps/25 laps)
Note: Race was shortened 30 laps prior to its scheduled distance due to weather.
Race Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
SHR Race Finish:
● Cole Custer (Started 1st / Finished 1st, completed 25 of 25 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 15th / Finished 24th, completed 25 of 25 laps)
SHR Points:
● Cole Custer (3rd with 594 points, 44 out of first)
● Riley Herbst (11th with 429 points, 209 out of first)
Victory Notes:
● Cole Custer’s victory at Chicago marked SHR’s 20th Xfinity Series victory, its second of the season, and its first at Chicago.
● This was SHR’s 99th overall NASCAR victory.
● This was Ford’s first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Chicago.
● This was Custer’s 12th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and his 11th with SHR.
● SHR has won at three of the inaugural Xfinity Series races in the past four seasons. Chase Briscoe won the inaugural race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in July 2020, and Aric Almirola won the inaugural Xfinity Series race on June 10 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
SHR Notes:
● Custer earned his second victory of the season and his first victory in one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Chicago.
● This was Custer’s 10th straight top-10. He finished fifth April 1 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, third April 15 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, fourth April 22 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, seventh April 29 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, third May 13 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, third May 29 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, won June 3 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, sixth June 10 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, and ninth last Saturday at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
● Custer won the first two stages to collect 20 bonus points and two playoff points.
● Custer led all of the 25 laps run in this inaugural event at Chicago.
● Herbst earned his 12th top-25 of the season and his first top-25 in one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Chicago.
Race Notes:
● Cole Custer won The Loop 121 under caution to score his 12th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Chicago.
● There were three caution periods for a total of nine laps.
● Thirty-six of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● John Hunter Nemechek remains the championship leader after Chicago with a 16-point advantage over second-place Austin Hill.
Sound Bites:
“This is pretty awesome. To win at the inaugural NASCAR street course race means a lot. We put on such a cool event here – probably one of the coolest things we’ve done in NASCAR. Obviously, you want to win by running all of the laps, but sometimes it is what it is and a win is a win. We’ll take it as racers. I’m pumped for this No. 00 Haas Automation team. They are crushing it right now, and I can’t thank them enough. We just have to keep it rolling.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang
“I mean you hate to see it end under caution for rain, but sometimes that happens. We had a fast No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang but had to pit to fix damage in the first stage. I had fun driving this course though. We could’ve gotten back up there to the front if the race had continued green, but we’ll take it and move on to Atlanta.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Alsco Uniforms 250 on Saturday, July 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race begins at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
