Cole Custer's 18th place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in March marked his first NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series start since his second full-time stint with the now defunct Stewart-Haas Racing from 2023 to 2024.
The 2023 series champion returned for this past weekend's race at Kansas Speedway, again driving the No. 0 SS-Green Light Racing with BRK Racing Chevrolet, through a collaboration with Haas Factory Team.
Custer, who competed full-time in Cup from 2020 to 2022 with Stewart-Haas Racing, has competed full-time for Haas Factory Team in the Cup Series since the start of 2025.
Custer has three more O'Reilly Series starts lined up this season, but he is set to focus on the Cup Series this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
Cole Custer replacement confirmed for Talladega
Instead, it's Garrett Smithley who is set to be back behind the wheel of the No. 0 Chevrolet at the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked Lincoln, Alabama oval.
Smithley has been the primary driver of the No. 0 car this year, having driven it in all but three races, four including his Daytona International Speedway DNQ.
In addition to Custer running at Las Vegas and Kansas, Alex Labbe drove the entry in the road course race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Labbe has also made select starts for DGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports this season.
As for Custer, his three remaining O'Reilly Series starts this season are scheduled to take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Pocono Raceway in June, and Chicagoland Speedway in July.
He sits 34th in the Cup Series point standings through nine races, with a top finish of 22nd place at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway), but he has generally run best at superspeedways since returning to the sport's top level a year ago.
The CW Network's live coverage of the Ag-Pro 300 from Talladega Superspeedway is set to begin at 4:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, April 25. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action from NASCAR's biggest oval!
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