COLE CUSTER | RILEY HERBST
Darlington NASCAR Xfinity Series Advance
NASCAR Xfinity Series Overview
- Event: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 (Round 23 of 33)
- Date: Saturday, August 31
- 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 are hoping to rebound after bad luck struck in last Friday’s race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. In the rearview mirror for Custer is a superspeedway where anything can happen as he looks to Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, a track he’s tamed in the past. Custer started 14th at Daytona after a qualifying session shortened by lightning. He ran in the top-10 in the first stage of the race before finishing it just outside the points-paying position. During the stage break, he made contact on pit road with the his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Riley Herbst’s No. 98 Ford Mustang, forcing Custer to pit multiple times to repair damage and putting him a lap down for the start of the second stage. He was able to get his lap back and was running in the top-20 again when he was caught up in a multicar accident on lap 77. The No. 00 team attempted to repair the significant damage, but ultimately ran out of time on the DVP (Damage Vehicle Policy) clock. Custer was forced to retire his Ford Mustang and settle for 32nd-place. Most importantly, it cost him his regular-season points lead, dropping him to second in the standings, 33 points behind new leader Justin Allgaier. Four regular-season races remain.
- Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington will mark Custer’s seventh career Xfinity Series start at the track nicknamed “Too Tough to Tame.” Despite never having led a lap there until this May, the native of Ladera Ranch, California, was credited with the Xfinity Series victory in August 2019, when he crossed the finish line .602 of a second behind apparent race-winner Denny Hamlin, who was subsequently disqualified for a ride-height violation in postrace inspection. It was Custer’s eighth of 14 career Xfinity series victories. In the September 2018 race at Darlington, Custer was runner-up to Brad Keselowski by .738 of a second. Custer finished ninth in his Xfinity Series debut at Darlington in September 2017. Custer has not finished worse than ninth there. In his most recent visit to the track in May, Custer looked to be well on his way to another victory after starting from the pole and leading 21 laps. He ultimately was forced to settle for a third-place result after pit road issues.
- 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 outing there was an 11th-place effort in the September 2021 Southern 500. He’s scored two other Darlington top-15s in the Cup Series – a 12th-place finish in September 2020 and a 14th-place finish in his most recent Cup Series start last September.
Riley Herbst Notes of Interest
- Riley Herbst heads to Saturday’s Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in hopes of keeping the No. 98 Monster Energy team’s momentum rolling. After starting eighth in last Friday’s Daytona 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Herbst appeared to be on his way to a third career victory in the final laps of the scheduled 100-lap race. sitting fourth in the second row on the final overtime restart. He was making a charge for the lead when the caution flag flew on the final lap, ending the race under caution. He had to settle for a fourth-place finish, but given damage sustained in a pit road incident after Stage 1, Herbst’s rebound for a top-five was significant in the regular-season standings. Earlier in the race, he finished second in Stage 2 to earn nine bonus points.
- Saturday’s 200-mile race will mark the 10th Xfinity Series start at Darlington for Herbst. While he’s experienced a variety of results at the track affectionately known as the “Lady in Black,” he’s also earned some of his career-best finishes there. In his nine prior starts at the track, Herbst has earned four top-10 finishes with a best of third, earned in the May 2022 race on the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval. While his return there in September 2023 was an up-and-down day of emotions as he was racing to make the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, he came emerged with a sixth-place finish after starting 15th. In his most recent start at the track in May, Herbst started ninth and ended up with a solid seventh-place result. He’ll be seeking his first career Darlington win with the Stewart-Haas team that has been victorious twice there in the Xfinity Series – August 2019 with Cole Custer and May 2020 with Chase Briscoe.
- With just four races to go until the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs kick off Sept. 28 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Herbst is locked into the 12-driver postseason for the fourth time in five fulltime seasons. His win on July 20 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway secured his playoff berth, and Herbst has been on a roll ever since. He has collected a total of two stage wins, 176 stage points, and 10 top-10s in the 22 races run so far this season. Currently, he sits sixth in the regular-season standings, just nine points behind sixth-place AJ Allmendinger. Herbst has earned the fourth-most stages points of all Xfinity Series drivers – only eight fewer than his teammate Custer. He has four regular-season races left to improve his position in the standings and accumulate more playoff points to carry over into the opening Round of 12. He is sixth in the playoff standings with seven playoff points.
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Darlington is a difficult track where a lot of drivers struggle to find success. Yet, you’ve earned a win, five top-fives and six top-10s at the 1.366-mile oval in your six career starts. What’s your secret to navigating the track?
“Darlington is called ‘Too Tough to Tame’ for a reason. It’s such a difficult track for a driver. If your car isn’t set up just right, it can make for a bad race, which we definitely don’t need right now. I’ve been lucky to have some good runs there and continue to score top-10s at such a difficult track, but to put it into perspective as to just how hard this track is, I didn’t lead my first laps until this past May. I got the win in 2019, but that was in such unprecedented fashion. I want to win outright by running up front and crossing the finish line first. We’ve been close, but we just need that little bit more. Luckily, J.T. (Jonathan Toney, crew chief) and the guys have been working hard on it since May, and I know they’ll bring me a fast racecar once again. We’ve been good here, but I know we can be the best of the best.”
While the NASCAR Cup Series regular season-finale is this week, the Xfinity Series still has four races to go. You’re second, only 33 points behind new leader Justin Allgaier. What do you need in order to get the points lead back?
“Honestly, we just need to leave the bad luck behind us. Michigan and Daytona were just miserable. In such a good season, we were forced to park our car early in incidents outside of our own doing. Those days are tough as a driver. You replay what you could’ve done differently in your head, but you can’t dwell on it too long. This stretch here is so weird with so many superspeedway races in a month-and-a-half. We’ve got one of my best tracks with Darlington, though, and I’m planning to use that to my advantage. We lost the points lead last weekend, which is hard. We still have a shot to fight for it, though. We just need to get back to where we were. Luckily, we’re locked into the playoffs, but I’m hoping to find our way back to the top of the leaderboard again.”
Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Darlington has been one of those tracks where you run well but often find bad luck. What do you need to do in order to not only stay out of trouble Saturday, but also find your way to victory lane?
“Honestly, this racetrack is all about being patient. You can’t get too heated if you’re working your way through traffic or it’ll come back to bite you – which I’ve learned the hard way. I’ve had some of my best runs at Darlington and some of my worst. I’ve made some mistakes and gotten back in the pack, which ended up not working out in my favor and a lot of times ended my day way too early. Bad luck can hit you hard there, and I can say that I’ve seen both the good side and bad side of this track. If we can just keep focused and stay out of bad luck’s way, I know the No. 98 team can find its way to victory lane at Darlington. When it’s been good, it’s been great. We’ve had the speed all year at intermediate tracks, but it’s just about staying out of trouble. I’m excited to get back to Darlington this weekend.”
With four races to go in the regular season, you are locked into the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs thanks to your July 20 win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Talk about that feeling of being able to prepare for the final regular-season races without having to worry about points racing.
“It’s like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. We don’t have to watch that points race and can just focus on getting better for the playoffs. We can take those risks to get stage wins and race wins to help us collect playoff points. That’s something that we’ve never really been able to do in the past, and it’s such a good feeling. This No. 98 Monster Energy team has brought me fast cars each and every weekend, so I have no doubt that we can do the same at Darlington. We just have to stay out of trouble and be there at the end. I’m excited to finally be in this spot. We’re able to also experiment and see what will work for the playoffs and what won’t. It’s a good spot.”
