NASCAR Cup Series: 5 drivers who could drive for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2019
By Asher Fair
Cole Custer
Cole Custer currently competes for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and he has done so on a full-time since the 2017 season after driving in five races for JR Motorsports in the 2016 season. He drives the #00 Ford.
In his rookie season in the Xfinity Series, Custer advanced to the round of 8 but could not get into the Championship 4. However, that did not stop him from dominating the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway en route to claiming his first career Xfinity Series victory.
Had Custer been in last season’s Championship 4, he would have been the champion as a result of this dominant performance. This season, his victory in the round of 8 race at Texas Motor Speedway, which was just the second victory of his Xfinity Series career, locked him into the Championship 4.
After recording seven top five finishes and 19 top 10 finishes last season, the 20-year-old Ladera Ranch, California native has already recorded 13 top five finishes, 25 top 10 finishes and the first five pole positions of his career through the first 32 races of the 33-race 2018 season. His average starting position so far this season is 6.1 while his average finishing position is 9.2. Last season, these statistics were 8.6 and 13.3, respectively.
Also this season, Custer competed in the Cup Series for the first time. He drove the #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford in three races, and he performed respectably considering the fact that he did not drive for a top-tier team.
Custer finished in 25th place in the March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 26th in the June race at Pocono Raceway and 26th in the September race at Richmond Raceway after starting in 30th, 28th and 10th in those three races, respectively.
As a young and promising Xfinity Series driver for Stewart-Haas Racing, don’t be surprised if Custer ends up being promoted to the organization’s Cup Series team sooner rather than later, possible even as Kurt Busch’s replacement behind the wheel of the #41 Ford.