While Cole Custer’s No. 00 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse led the field to green at Phoenix on March 9th, 2024, he couldn’t get his race car under him during the final stage, quietly finishing fifth despite leading 61 laps.
Custer held control of the race and even led the pack across the line for the Stage 2 win, but in Stage 3, the No. 00 Mustang became irreparably loose. Custer faded while the No. 81 Toyota TRD Supra of Chandler Smith and No. 7 Chevy Camaro SS of Justin Allgaier shot ahead. Allgaier then checked out, but lost a tire with five laps left, opening the door for Smith and the No. 81 Supra to win.
Custer’s fifth place finish made him the sole NASCAR Ford racer to finish inside the top 10. Ryan Sieg’s No. 39 Mustang finished 12th, while Blaine Perkins’ No. 29 Mustang followed in 13th place. Hailie Deegan finished 33rd after brushing the wall and bringing out a caution late in the race, while Frankie Muniz finished 30th in the No. 15 Mustang.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 81 | Chandler Smith | QuickTie Toyota | 205 | 88 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 2 | 7 | 2 | Jesse Love # | Whelen Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 3 | 6 | 18 | Sheldon Creed | Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota | 205 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 4 | 15 | 21 | Austin Hill | Bennett Transportation Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 5 | 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Haas Automation Ford | 205 | 61 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 23 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen # | Safety Culture Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 7 | 11 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Little Giant Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 8 | 12 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Spiked Lite Coolers Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 9 | 16 | 8 | Sammy Smith | Pilot Flying J/Marten Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 10 | 20 | 5 | Anthony Alfredo | Dude Wipes Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 11 | 24 | 42 | Leland Honeyman # | RANDCO Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 12 | 13 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 205 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 13 | 31 | 29 | Blaine Perkins | AutoParkit.com Ford | 205 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 29 | 78 | BJ McLeod | BJ McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 15 | 25 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Wings Etc Grill & Pub Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 16 | 14 | 91 | Kyle Weatherman | Silverton/DriveSmartWarranty Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 17 | 34 | 92 | Nick Leitz | Precision Measurements Inc. Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 18 | 10 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 204 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 19 | 32 | 14 | JJ Yeley | SWAMPFOX Tactical Chevrolet | 204 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 20 | 22 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Finance Pro Plus Chevrolet | 204 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 21 | 30 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Rolling Plains Construction Chevrolet | 204 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 22 | 3 | 26 | Corey Heim(i) | GearWrench Toyota | 203 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 23 | 28 | 17 | William Byron(i) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 202 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 24 | 4 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Ford | 202 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 26 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | TopPool.com Ford | 201 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 38 | 6 | Garrett Smithley | TeamJDMotorsports.com Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 27 | 27 | 11 | Josh Williams | Call811.com Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 28 | 33 | 4 | Dawson Cram # | TeamJDMotorsports.com Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 29 | 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | BRANDT Chevrolet | 195 | 52 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 30 | 35 | 35 | Frankie Muniz | The Hot Chick Ford | 156 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 8 | 19 | Aric Almirola | Go Bowling Toyota | 154 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 32 | 9 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek(i) | Safeway/Albertsons Toyota | 146 | 4 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 33 | 19 | 15 | Hailie Deegan # | AirBox Ford | 146 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 21 | 1 | Sam Mayer | Tire Pros Chevrolet | 143 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 35 | 18 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | FunkAway Chevrolet | 143 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 36 | 17 | 27 | Jeb Burton | NORMA Ammunition Chevrolet | 143 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 37 | 37 | 32 | Ryan Vargas | Lerner & Rowe Chevrolet | 17 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 38 | 36 | 07 | Patrick Emerling | MMI Services Chevrolet | 5 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
Subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford racing news, NASCAR news, and ongoing Ford news coverage.
No Comments yet