Cole Custer commands Xfinity championship race in Phoenix
AVONDALE, ARIZ. — Cole Custer and John Hunter Nemechek commanded the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Four, leading the way every lap.
In the late afternoon sunshine, Nemechek commanded the championship. He led the championship for the first 52 laps with a stage one win in there.
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 45): Nemechek, Custer, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Myatt Snider, Brett Moffitt
Allgaier recovered from a spin and dropping to 32nd to get seventh in just 35 laps. Championship-contending teammate Sam Mayer went from 19th to fifth.
For stage two, Allgaier gained four positions on pit road. That was about all he could show for the stage as he slid to ninth in the stage.
Meanwhile, as the sun went down, Cole Custer took control with Sam Mayer and Nemechek on his heels. They ran 1-2-3 as Derek Kraus wrecked in turn two and ended stage two under caution.
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 90): Custer, Mayer, Nemechek, Hill, C. Smith, B. Jones, Berry, Creed, Allgaier, Riley Herbst
In the final stage, Custer held serve until a caution for Chris Hacker bumping into J.J. Yeley exiting turn two. Then, Nemechek took control even through a caution for Myatt Snider wrecking in turn two on lap 138.
As the lights came on and the track cooled down, Custer showed his strength, taking the lead 14 laps into the subsequent green-flag run.
Nemechek hung on, never letting Custer get farther than seven-tenths of a second ahead, even with Justin Allgaier charging hard.
Until a caution for Connor Mosack wrecked in turn four and forced another round of pit stops.
Again, the complexion of the race changed again. Daniel Hemric took two tires and jumped to the lead. Meanwhile, Cole Custer held serve over Justin Allgaier, who passed John Hunter Nemechek with a good pit stop.
Custer impressed owner Tony Stewart who said on the final restart, “I don’t know how he did it. I had to rewatch that restart to see how he did it.”
Justin Allgaier challenged Cole Custer with a three-wide move to the outside. Custer drifted up the track in turn three with Allgaier up high but Custer recovered to take the lead.
Custer came to the line a champion, finally, in his third Championship Four appearance.
TOP-10 FINISHERS (LAP 200): Custer, Sheldon Creed, Allgaier, Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer, Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Kaz Grala
Custer also led four times for 96 laps in the race and led the championship for 100 of 202 laps.
Nemechek led the championship in the other 102 laps but finished 28th after hitting the wall in overtime.
Championship Four lead changes (7): Nemechek 0-52 (52), Custer 53-90 (38), Nemechek 91 (1), Custer 92-108 (17), Nemechek 109-156 (48), Custer 157-183 (27), Nemechek 184 (1), Custer 185-202 (18)
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com