The Blue Oval has turned its season around in a big way in the Xfinity Series. At Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 20th, 2024, a pair of NASCAR Ford drivers chased each other around the iconic Brickyard oval, posting a one-two finish in an incredible race to the stripe.
Three different drivers led the final three laps at Indy. Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse, held control on Lap 98, while Aric Almirola’s No. 20 Toyota TRD Supra passed him to lead Lap 99, and finally, the No. 98 Mustang of Riley Herbst made the last-lap pass that ultimately handed him the victory. Herbst threw his race car sideways to complete the pass on Almirola in Turn 4, galloping down the front stretch to take the checkered flag first.
“This is Indianapolis, this is the most famous race track in the world and it’s an honor just to walk into the place, let alone win,” said Herbst. “We’ve had speed all year and I felt like we could win. I just messed up on restarts a little bit but just continued to work and continued to work.”
He added, “I’m proud of these guys. Proud of Stewart-Haas Racing [SHR]. Obviously, with the news of us shutting down these guys could have given up on me and [teammate] Cole [Custer] but they stuck behind me and Cole and it’s back-to-back wins for Stewart-Haas Racing.”
Custer echoed Herbst’s sentiments, saying, “What an awesome day for SHR, two cars up front all day, qualified one-two and finished one-two, so an unbelievable day for SHR.”
Almirola finished third, followed by Shane Van Gisbergen’s No. 97 Chevy Camaro SS in fourth. Sheldon Creed’s No. 18 Supra rounded out the top five.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Ford | 100 | 30 | Ford Mustang |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | Cole Custer | Haas Automation Ford | 100 | 47 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 3 | 20 | Aric Almirola | He Gets Us Toyota | 100 | 5 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 4 | 23 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen # | WeatherTech Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 5 | 12 | 18 | Sheldon Creed | Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota | 100 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 6 | 14 | 21 | Austin Hill | Bennett Transportation Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 7 | 22 | 10 | Daniel Dye(i) | Black Widow Trucks Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 8 | 8 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Celsius Chevrolet | 100 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 9 | 9 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 10 | 7 | 88 | Carson Kvapil | Clarience Technologies Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 11 | 27 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 100 | 4 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 38 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Spiked Lite Tropical Coolers Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 13 | 15 | 2 | Jesse Love # | Whelen/NLEOMF Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 14 | 16 | 26 | Conor Daly | Polkadot Toyota | 100 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 15 | 6 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Pennington Chevrolet | 100 | 10 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 16 | 29 | 38 | Matt DiBenedetto | ReMA Ford | 100 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 17 | 19 | Joe Graf Jr | Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota | 100 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 18 | 21 | 8 | Sammy Smith | TMC Transportation Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 19 | 11 | 27 | Jeb Burton | iHeart Media/Q95 Rocks Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 20 | 25 | 42 | Leland Honeyman # | Distributor Wire & Cable Co Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 21 | 30 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Macc Door Systems Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 22 | 31 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Night Owl Ford | 100 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 23 | 34 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Renascent Demolition Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 24 | 35 | 35 | Joey Gase | Bell Helmets Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 25 | 28 | 91 | Kyle Weatherman | DriveSmartWarranty.com Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 26 | 36 | 14 | David Starr | SHAR Ford | 100 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 32 | 92 | Josh Bilicki | Rita's Ice Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 28 | 33 | 13 | BJ McLeod | Falling In Reverse Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 29 | 24 | 29 | Blaine Perkins | AutoParkit.com Ford | 100 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 18 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Wings Etc Grill & Pub Chevrolet | 99 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 31 | 26 | 45 | Garrett Smithley | Trophy Tractor/RichMar Florist Chevrolet | 97 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 32 | 37 | 7 | Greg Van Alst | CB Fabricating Chevrolet | 91 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 33 | 13 | 81 | Chandler Smith | QuickTie Toyota | 86 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 34 | 5 | 5 | Anthony Alfredo | Dude Mint Chill Chevrolet | 83 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 35 | 20 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | FUNKAWAY Chevrolet | 83 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 36 | 19 | 11 | Josh Williams | Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet | 83 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 37 | 4 | 1 | Sam Mayer | Huck's Market Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 38 | 10 | 15 | Josh Berry(i) | Klutch Vodka Ford | 0 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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