NASCAR O'Reilly Series PR

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Ford Mustang - FINISHED 2nd: “I could kind of match his lap time there and studied his in-car all the way coming here trying to figure out how to run the top better. I got close. I tried to find a way to close the gap when I was behind and tried too hard and got into the fence. What can you say? Tyler can just rip the top here. That is all you can really say about it."

After tallying a season-best eight victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) this season, Christopher Bell fell short of the NXS title at Homestead-Miami Speedway, finishing fifth in Saturday’s race.

Kaulig Racing will cap off their historic, fourth season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) with a special paint scheme designed by team owner, Matt Kaulig’s 12-year-old daughter, Samantha Kaulig.

“I’m really happy to get back behind the wheel of this State Water Heaters Chevrolet and end this season on a strong note for everyone on this No. 8 team. It’s been great getting to work with Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and everyone at JR Motorsports and I am so thankful for this opportunity. Hopefully we can end just as strong as we have been all year and have a great run on Saturday.” – Jeb Burton

John Hunter Nemechek and GMS Racing will utilize chassis no. 223 this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This chassis has been ran five times this season by Nemechek. Twice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (start: 10th/finish: 2nd - Spring & start: 13th/finish: 8th - Fall), Charlotte Motor Speedway (start: 14th/finish: 12th), Kentucky Speedway (start: 11th/finish: 12th) and at Kansas Speedway (start: 15th/finish: 18th).

Below is an in-depth look at the four drivers who have qualified for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 and will race for the title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Ford EcoBoost 300 on Saturday, Nov. 16 (at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The good news for Austin Cindric was that he overcame a speeding penalty to score a sixth-place finish Saturday afternoon at ISM Raceway, his 23rd top-10 in 32 races this season and his third at the one-mile Arizona speedway. The not so good news: despite the tremendous effort, it wasn’t enough to for the young driver to transfer into the Championship 4 next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Nemechek started the race from the 13th-position and made his way into the ninth-position to finish out Stage One.

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang – WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND THE 7? “I kind of struggled with the brake pedal all day. I was just saving my brakes until like 15 to go and I just let it have it there at the end. I got to close in, but I didn’t quite have enough. Our Haas Automation Mustang, I mean that was probably the best we’ve been at Phoenix so far, but we just kind of struggled trying to get the whole run together.”

Christopher Bell led over half of the 200-lap race, swept the stages and will advance to Homestead to battle for the NXS championship next weekend.