Cole Custer recovers to finish second in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS- After starting on the pole for NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday in Las Vegas, Cole Custer was able to battle back for a second-place finish. 

The 00 car had to make up ground right from the green flag. Chandler Smith and John Hunter Nemechek were the class of the field for much of the day.

Custer picked up stage points in the first two stages, finishing fifth in stage one and ninth in stage two. 

The defending Xfinity Series champion secured his second-place finish with a remarkable pass. He took on both Chandler Smith and Austin Hill at once to jump from fourth to second in the final laps Saturday. 

“It was definitely a handful,” Custer said. “We were just trying to stay in the top 10 and the track came to us I think a little bit. JT and the guys made some great adjustments and definitely came on strong at the end but wish we were in that one spot better.” 

After finishing 13th at Daytona and 16th at Atlanta, Custer was glad to put the superspeedways behind him and finally get his season underway with a solid run in Las Vegas. 

“The first two races you just try and make it through them. Then, you kinda go off from there and really get the season started,” Custer said. “It was a good way to start the year with a pole and finishing second so hopefully just build on it from there.” 

Mother nature made its presence known throughout the day on Saturday. Wind gusts as high as 70 mph all day. 

Drivers had mixed reviews on how the violent wind gusts affected their race cars.

Custer, however, didn’t seem to be impacted. 

“Not as big as I thought it would be,” Custer said. “You could feel it for sure going into turn three but it wasn’t the end of the world really. I was a little nervous getting going but it turned out alright.” 

After Las Vegas, Custer sits fifth in the Xfinity Series standings. He is +28 to the cutline and -49 to points leader Austin Hill.

Now, he heads to Phoenix where, just a few months back, he secured his first Xfinity championship. Surprisingly, Custer hopes things go a little differently than that day. 

“I hope it’s not as exciting as last year but we’ll see,” Custer said. 

The reigning Xfinity champion and the rest of the field now sets their sights on the Call 811.com Every Dig. Every Time. 200. The green flag is set to fly at Phoenix 4:30 P.M. EST.