Cole Custer has been quietly consistent so far this season, bringing his No. 00 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse to its fifth top-five finish in the Xfinity Series at Dover on April 27th, 2024. In fact, he never strayed far from the front, commanding the race for 95 laps – although his lead vanished when it mattered most as the pack battled rain and slick racing conditions.
Custer took the lead away from the No. 2 Chevy Camaro SS of Jesse Love on Lap 73, going on to win Stage 2 and gain valuable Playoff points. However, he wasn’t able to maintain the lead throughout Stage 3 as he elected not to pit and take new tires. He slipped behind ultimate race winner Ryan Truex, driver of the No. 19 Toyota TRD Supra, falling back to fifth by the time the checkered flag waved.
“Those final 50 laps were pretty frustrating with the rain and trying to make that call on Pit Road,” Custer said. “In hindsight, we probably should have pitted, and I think we probably would have won. My No. 00 guys did such a great job with our Ford Mustang Dark Horse. It was definitely a dominant car, and it just shows a lot of promise for our cars moving forward.”
Meanwhile, Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Mustang, didn’t have nearly as good of a day. He spun out with seven laps left on the board, tangling with the No. 7 Camaro of Justin Allgaier and relegating him to a 16th-place finish.
“The speed is fine, for sure,” Herbst said. “I guess the No. 7 car [Allgaier] got back at us from last week [at Talladega], so it is what it is and we’ll move on… we should have finished third at worst.”
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 20 | Ryan Truex | The Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota | 208 | 2 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 2 | 26 | 88 | Carson Kvapil | Chevy Truck Season Chevrolet | 208 | 14 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 3 | 20 | 1 | Sam Mayer | NASCAR Refuel Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 4 | 5 | 18 | Sheldon Creed | Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota | 208 | 3 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 5 | 11 | 00 | Cole Custer | Haas Automation Ford | 208 | 95 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 10 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 7 | 7 | 81 | Chandler Smith | Smith General Contracting Toyota | 208 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 8 | 6 | 91 | Kyle Weatherman | DriveSmartWarranty.com Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 9 | 21 | 5 | Anthony Alfredo | Dude Wipes Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 10 | 17 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | FUNKAWAY Chevrolet | 208 | 3 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 11 | 19 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 12 | 15 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Motley Crue Dogs of War Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 13 | 23 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Costa Oil Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 14 | 25 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Nordic Logistics Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 15 | 4 | 21 | Austin Hill | Nuthin Fancy Collection Chevrolet | 208 | 17 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 16 | 2 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Ford | 208 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet | 208 | 39 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 18 | 31 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen # | WeatherTech Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 19 | 1 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Barracuda Chevrolet | 208 | 13 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 20 | 36 | 10 | Daniel Dye(i) | Race to Stop Suicide Chevrolet | 208 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 21 | 28 | 42 | Leland Honeyman # | RANDCO Industries Chevrolet | 207 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 22 | 27 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Prime Bites Brownie Chevrolet | 207 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 23 | 18 | 92 | Kaden Honeycutt(i) | Drive Sober Arrive Alive DE Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 24 | 8 | 2 | Jesse Love # | Whelen Chevrolet | 206 | 21 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 25 | 38 | 11 | Josh Williams | Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 26 | 37 | 14 | David Starr | Alarm Tech Chevrolet | 206 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 27 | 24 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Independent Metal Strap Ford | 206 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 28 | 30 | 07 | Patrick Emerling | Goon Tape Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 29 | 32 | 4 | Dawson Cram # | NJSP Troopers United Foundation Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 30 | 35 | 6 | Garrett Smithley | Heroes Haven Chevrolet | 202 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 31 | 29 | 15 | Hailie Deegan # | AirBox Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 16 | 38 | Matt DiBenedetto | Viking Motorsports Ford | 196 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 13 | 8 | Sammy Smith | Pilot Flying J Chevrolet | 192 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 34 | 9 | 19 | Taylor Gray(i) | Operation 300 Toyota | 183 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 35 | 22 | 26 | Corey Heim(i) | Synergy Modular Toyota | 85 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 36 | 34 | 29 | Blaine Perkins | Ollie's Ford | 47 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 37 | 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 25 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 38 | 33 | 35 | JJ Yeley | Toyota | 4 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
Subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford racing news, NASCAR news, and ongoing Ford news coverage.
Comment
Custer is second in the points, only one point behind leader Chandler Smith.