Cole Custer picked up right where he left off from last weekend in first place as he claimed the pole position for the return of the Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 20.
The reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Ladera Ranch, California, saved his best qualifying lap for last as he was the last of 38 competitors to post a qualifying lap, which he achieved the top starting spot and bested teammate Riley Herbst with a pole-winning lap at 167.582 mph in 53.705 seconds, with Custer being the only competitor to post a qualifying lap within the 167-mile range.
With his accomplishment, Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, notched his 21st career pole in the Xfinity Series, his third of the 2024 season, his first since doing so at Phoenix Raceway in March and his first at Indianapolis.
Custer’s current best result on Indy’s oval-shaped circuit in three total starts is a fifth-place result he posted in 2017 during his rookie Xfinity campaign as he strives to be four spots better for Saturday’s main event.
Custer’s pole comes a week after he scored his first Xfinity victory of the 2024 season at Pocono Raceway as he leads this year’s regular-season standings. It also comes hours after it was announced that he will be returning to a full-time Cup Series campaign in 2025 for Haas Factory Team in the No. 41 Ford, a team that is rebranded from Stewart-Haas Racing.
Saturday’s Xfinity event and return to the oval-shaped circuit at Indianapolis will feature a front row sweep of Stewart-Haas Racing competitors as Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang, will start alongside Custer with his best qualifying lap occurring at 166.942 mph in 53.911 seconds.
Aric Almirola, who makes his return to the Xfinity Series for the first time since Darlington Raceway in May, qualified in a strong third place and he will share the second row with Sam Mayer while Anthony Alfredo piloted his No. 5 Our Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to a fifth-place starting spot as he will share the third row with Brandon Jones.
Carson Kvapil, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry will start in the top 10 while Jeb Burton and Sheldon Creed round out the top-12 starting spots.
Notably, Xfinity Series regulars Chandler Smith, Austin Hill and rookie Jesse Love will start 13th to 15th, respectively, while Conor Daly will start in 16th place. In addition, Joe Graf Jr. will start 17th in his first Xfinity start of the season with Joe Gibbs Racing, Sammy Smith will line up in 21st place alongside Daniel Dye, rookie Shane van Gisbergen will start 23rd and Parker Kligerman will line up in 38th place, dead last, as he was the only competitor who did not post a qualifying lap.
All 38 Xfinity competitors entered for this weekend’s main event made the show.
Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
1. Cole Custer, 167.582 mph, 53.705 seconds
2. Riley Herbst, 166.942 mph, 53.911 seconds
3. Aric Almirola, 166.765 mph, 53.968 seconds
4. Sam Mayer, 166.725 mph, 53.981 seconds
5. Anthony Alfredo, 166.593 mph, 54.024 seconds
6. Brandon Jones, 166.439 mph, 54.074 seconds
7. Carson Kvapil, 166.352 mph, 54.102 seconds
8. AJ Allmendinger, 166.343 mph, 54.105 seconds
9. Justin Allgaier, 166.316 mph, 54.114 seconds
10. Josh Berry, 166.095 mph, 54.186 seconds
11. Jeb Burton, 165.865 mph, 54.261 seconds
12. Sheldon Creed, 165.844 mph, 54.268 seconds
13. Chandler Smith, 165.837 mph, 54.270 seconds
14. Austin Hill, 165.792 mph, 54.285 seconds
15. Jesse Love, 165.758 mph, 54.296 seconds
16. Conor Daly, 165.731 mph, 54.305 seconds
17. Joe Graf Jr., 165.216 mph, 54.474 seconds
18. Jeremy Clements, 165.041 mph, 54.532 seconds
19. Josh Williams, 165.001 mph, 54.545 seconds
20. Parker Retzlaff, 164.721 mph, 54.638 seconds
21. Sammy Smith, 164.675 mph, 54.653 seconds
22. Daniel Dye, 164.204 mph, 54.810 seconds
23. Shane van Gisbergen, 164.108 mph, 54.842 seconds
24. Blaine Perkins, 163.818 mph, 54.939 seconds
25. Leland Honeyman, 163.488 mph, 55.050 seconds
26. Garrett Smithley, 163.339 mph, 55.100 seconds
27. Ryan Sieg, 163.280 mph, 55.120 seconds
28. Kyle Weatherman, 163.236 mph, 55.135 seconds
29. Matt DiBenedetto, 162.970 mph, 55.225 seconds
30. Brennan Poole, 162.566 mph, 55.362 seconds
31. Kyle Sieg, 162.113 mph, 55.517 seconds
32. Josh Bilicki, 161.943 mph, 55.575 seconds
33. BJ McLeod, 161.681 mph, 55.665 seconds
34. Ryan Ellis, 160.625 mph, 55.031 seconds
35. Joey Gase, 160.194 mph, 56.182 seconds
36. David Starr, 159.730 mph, 56.345 seconds
37. Greg Van Alst, 157.649 mph, 57.089 seconds
38. Parker Kligerman, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
The 2024 Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is set to occur on Saturday, July 20, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
