STEWART-HAAS RACING
Sci Aps 200
Date: June 22, 2024
Event: Sci Aps 200 (Round 16 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)
Note: Race extended three laps past its scheduled 200-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Sam Mayer of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Race Finish:
● Cole Custer (Started 1st / Finished 3rd, Running, completed 203 of 203 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 4th / Finished 8th, Running, completed 203 of 203 laps)
SHR Points:
● Cole Custer (1st with 589 points)
● Riley Herbst (6th with 478 points, 111 out of first)
SHR Notes:
● Custer earned his 13th top-10 of the season and his fourth top-10 in five career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at New Hampshire.
● This was Custer’s fourth straight top-10. He finished sixth June 1 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, ninth June 8 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, and sixth last Saturday at Iowa Speedway in Newton.
● Custer has only finished outside the top-10 once in the Xfinity Series at New Hampshire.
● Custer finished third in Stage 2 to earn eight bonus points.
● Custer led five times for 114 laps – his first laps led at New Hampshire.
● Herbst earned his seventh top-10 of the season and his second top-10 in four career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at New Hampshire.
● This was Herbst’s third top-10 in the past four races. He finished 10th June 1 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway and second last Saturday at Iowa Speedway in Newton.
● Herbst’s eighth-place finish bettered his previous best finish at New Hampshire – 10th, earned in July 2021.
● Herbst finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points.
Race Notes:
● Christopher Bell won the Sci Aps 200 to score his 18th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his first of the season and his fourth at New Hampshire. His margin over second-place Sheldon Creed was .254 of a second.
● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 58 laps.
● Twenty-nine of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Custer remains the championship leader after New Hampshire with a 15-point advantage over second-place Chandler Smith.
Sound Bites:
“That was hard racing at the end. I hate it for us and our guys. I felt like we had that one. We had the best car all day and to have it ripped away with one lap to go is just heartbreaking. Our guys brought a really fast Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse. That was one of the best cars I’ve had in the Xfinity Series. Man, it sucks. I am going to replay that one in my head of what I could have done differently. You get put in those late-race cautions six times, or however many there were, and eventually, it is not going to go your way. There are definitely some things I can look back on and see what I could have done differently. That one really stings. I really wanted that one.” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“It’s just frustrating. I feel like we had a really good No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse at multiple times during the race, but we just lost so many spots on pit road. Luckily, we were able to bounce back for a top-10. We need to minimize the mistakes if we want to find victory lane again. We go to Nashville next week, which is one of my better tracks, so I’m looking forward to that.” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Tennessee Lottery 250 on Saturday, June 22 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. The race begins at 5 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
