NASCAR: 5 most disappointing Cup drivers of 2022
By Asher Fair
Most disappointing NASCAR drivers in 2022: No. 2 – Cole Custer
If you are reading this article and aren’t a NASCAR Cup Series driver, you have as many top 10 finishes as Cole Custer in the last calendar year. In fact, you technically have 1,000 times — or any other number — as many top 10 finishes as Custer in the last calendar year.
Custer’s most recent top 10 finish came in May 2021 when he finished in 10th place at Dover Motor Speedway. He is on a 41-race top 10 finish drought.
He hasn’t finished higher than 10th place since he finished in ninth at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in October 2020. He hasn’t finished in the top five since earning his first career victory at Kentucky Speedway in July 2020.
Yes, I understand that Stewart-Haas Racing have struggled since the start of the 2021 season. But Custer is 11 spots lower than the next lowest Stewart-Haas Racing driver in the point standings, and he was the lowest last year as well. In fact, even in 2020 when he made the playoffs, he finished as the lowest, and he wouldn’t have come close to the playoffs if not for his upset win.
In terms of driver vs. car performance, the driver of the #41 Ford is the worst driver in the Cup Series, and he has been the worst driver in the Cup Series for quite some time. With just four top 20 finishes in the last 14 races, there has unfortunately been no sign of that changing.