COLE CUSTER | RILEY HERBST
Darlington NASCAR Xfinity Series Advance
NASCAR Xfinity Series Overview
- Event: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 (Round 25 of 33)
- Date: Saturday, Sept. 2
- Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
- Layout: 1.366-mile oval
- Time/TV/Radio: 3:30 p.m. EDT on USA/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Cole Custer Notes of Interest
- Cole Custer and the No. 00 Haas Automation team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) head to Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway looking to keep their latest streak of top-10 finishes alive. Custer finished sixth on Aug. 12 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, seventh on Aug. 19 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, and fifth last Friday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The top-five at Daytona was Custer’s best NASCAR Xfinity Series finish at the 2.5-mile oval.
- When the Xfinity Series last visited Darlington in May, Custer was coming off four consecutive top-10s and back-to-back Dash 4 Cash wins after a rough start to the 2023 season. He seemed to be finding his stride as the series was heading into the summer months, but he was without a race win this season at the time. Custer had a solid qualifying effort of fifth for the Darlington race and ran in the top-five for a majority of the race. While he was unable to catch the leaders, he did fight his way up to third place spot and held that position through the end of the 147-lap event. It equaled his best finish of the season to that point, first earned April 15 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. He followed that performance with another third place finish May 29 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, before finally scoring his first win of the 2023 season June 3 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway.
- Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington will mark Custer’s fifth career Xfinity Series start at the track nicknamed “Too Tough to Tame.” In the August 2019 race there, the Ladera Ranch, California, native crossed the finish line second but was awarded the victory when apparent race winner Denny Hamlin’s racecar failed postrace inspection. It was Custer’s eighth of 10 career Xfinity Series victories. Custer finished second to Brad Keselowski in the 2018 Darlington race and ninth in 2017, all behind the wheel of the No. 00 SHR Ford. Custer has an additional seven starts outside of the Xfinity Series at Darlington, all in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2020 to 2022. His best of those outings was an 11th-place effort in the September 2021 Southern 500. He scored two other Darlington top-15s in the Cup Series – a 12th-place finish in September 2020 and a 14th-place finish last September.
Riley Herbst Notes of Interest
- Riley Herbst hopes a recent spate of mechanical issues is behind him and his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for SHR as they take to the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped Darlington oval for Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200. Heading into last Friday’s race at Daytona, Herbst held the 12th and final spot in this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs by a three-point cushion, and he was hoping to widen that margin with a fast racecar that he was able to keep in the top-10 during in the initial part of the race. But mechnical issues hampered his performance the rest of the way, and he was able to salvage only a 24th-place finish. He left Daytona 13th in the playoff standings, 20 points behind 12th-place Parker Kligerman.
- Saturday’s race will mark Herbst’s eighth career Xfinity Series start at Darlington. While he’s experienced a mixed bag of results, he has enjoyed some of his career-best races at the “Lady in Black.” He finished third there in May 2022, and fourth in September 2020. While his day ended early after contact in this year’s May race, Herbst is banking on his successful history on intermediate-style tracks, where he’s scored 38 career top-10s. While Herbst is still seeking his first Xfinity Series win, SHR has been victorious twice at Darlington in the Xfinity Series – in August 2019 with Custer and in May 2020 with Chase Briscoe.
- With only two races remaining before the 12-driver NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs begin Sept. 15 at Bristol, Herbst’s fight for a playoff spot will rely on the kind of form he and the No. 98 Monster Energy team exhibited at the outset of the season, when they reeled off six consecutive top-10 finishes in the opening six races, including a pair of top-fives. A win would lock him into the final playoff field, but he can still point his way in with a flurry of stage points and strong finishes at Darlington and in the final regular-season race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang
Last time the Xfinity Series visited Darlington, you scored a solid third-place finish after running in the top-five all day. What are your expectations heading into this Labor Day weekend race?
“I think we learned a lot at Darlington last time and, hopefully, we can kind of fine-tune what we had so we can be right in the mix this weekend. The No. 00 Haas Automation team felt like we were solid when we went there last time, so it’s just a matter of making what we had even better. I feel like we’ve done that at every track that we’ve revisited this year, and I’m hoping we have the speed to contend for not only the pole and stage wins, but also the race win. It would be cool to get another trophy from Darlington and get that win as we head into the playoffs.”
Darlington is a beast of its own. How do you navigate such a difficult racetrack as you also try to go for the win?
“Darlington is definitely a challenge. Turn one, you just really have to weigh risk versus reward. You’re always wondering how far you can drive in without hitting the wall, going up the hill on exit to get the speed. It’s kind of nerve-racking there. Then, you’re up against the fence and, really, it just depends on your racecar if you have to run to the wall or run a lower lane. You’re always kind of edgy with the back of the car there, and then you’re waiting for turn two. You’re able to just drive off and that makes it a little bit easier. In turn three, you’re hard on the brakes, so then you wash up. You’re constantly modulating brakes and holding your breath that you don’t carry too much speed and hit the fence in the center of three and four. Finally, it’s always a really tight exit off of turn four to head back to the start-finish line. As a driver, this is one of the hardest places we go to.”
Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
Darlington has been a roller coaster of a racetrack for you and your career. You’ve had some solid runs there, but also some bad luck that took you out of contention for top finishes. How are you approaching this weekend knowing that you still have a chance to point your way into the playoffs, but also trying to not get yourself in trouble?
“This is a tough situation that I never wanted to be in with how strong we started the season. I feel like a lot of bad luck was thrown our way, and I keep hoping that it’ll be behind us. We’re obviously on the outside looking in now for the playoffs, but you can’t give up. There’s always a chance and, at the end of the day, if you win, you’re in the playoffs. We have to be conscious of the points situation, but we have had the speed to run up front to contend for points and possibly wins. Darlington is an easy track to get yourself in trouble because it is so difficult. You have to be patient and not drive over your head. Hopefully we can do just that and find ourselves in a better position coming out of the race weekend.”
You’ve come a long way since the season began in February. With only two races left in the regular season, how do you think you and the No. 98 Monster Energy team have grown in the time since?
“We’ve come a long way, and we’ve been through a lot together. Going through the bad luck and bad runs is never easy, but we’ve been able to work on our communication and figure out the issues after each bad run. I’ve enjoyed working with Davin (Restivo, crew chief) since we switched crew chiefs in June, and hopefully we can find our stride again soon. This Monster Energy team deserves to be in victory lane, so hopefully we can find our way there soon.”
