Cole Custer, Rick Ware Racing to team up for 3 races
Hot on the heels of a NASCAR Xfinity Series win in Chicago, Cole Custer will return to the Cup Series for the next three races.
Custer will drive Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51 Ford at Atlanta, New Hampshire and Pocono.
The 2020 Cup Series Rookie of the Year drove for RWR in ’18-19 before taking over the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. He has one career win (Kentucky 2020).
Ryan Preece took over the No. 41 Ford this year while Custer moved back to the Xfinity Series. He currently sits third in points with two wins (Portland, Chicago).
Custer will become the eighth driver to pilot the No. 51 Ford this season. RWR initially named Cody Ware as the full-time driver but since NASCAR suspended him after race seven, they have replaced him with six other drivers:
- Matt Crafton (Bristol dirt)
- Zane Smith (Martinsville)
- JJ Yeley (Talladega, Dover, Kansas, Gateway, Nashville SS)
- Ryan Newman (Darlington, All-Star Race)
- Todd Gilliland (Coca-Cola 600, Sonoma)
- Andy Lally (Chicago)
Yeley earned the best finishes of any driver. He finished 11th at Talladega and 23rd at Kansas.
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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