Despite leading 67 of 200 laps, the No. 00 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse of defending Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer had to settle for a second-place finish as a Chevy dashed across the line first at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 26th, 2024.
The good news is that even though Custer didn’t win, he’s 28 points on the right side of the Playoffs cutoff line, holding onto fourth place by 28 points over Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 81 Toyota TRD Supra. He’s not out of the woods, though, and he’ll have to hit his marks and keep his nose clean during the forthcoming race at Martinsville, after which the Championship 4 will be selected for the Xfinity Series. So far, Custer is the sole NASCAR Ford driver still in the Playoffs, and barring major incident, he could very well defend his 2023 title at Phoenix in two weeks.
Custer was one of three NASCAR Ford teams to finish inside the top 10 at Homestead. Riley Herbst’s No. 98 Mustang finished sixth, followed by the No. 28 Mustang of Ryan Sieg, who finished seventh.
Austin Hill, driver of the No. 21 Chevy Camaro SS, crossed the line first, securing his own slot in the Championship 4.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | 21 | Austin Hill (P) | Bennett Transportation Chevrolet | 200 | 82 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 2 | 4 | 00 | Cole Custer (P) | NXT on CW Ford | 200 | 67 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 3 | 20 | Aric Almirola (P) | Samaritan's Purse Toyota | 200 | 1 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 4 | 14 | 2 | Jesse Love # (P) | Whelen Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 5 | 2 | 18 | Sheldon Creed | Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota | 200 | 12 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 6 | 8 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 7 | 17 | 28 | Ryan Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (P) | BRANDT/Precision Build Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 9 | 9 | 1 | Sam Mayer (P) | 10X Health Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 10 | 6 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger (P) | Modern Day Garage Chevrolet | 200 | 9 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 11 | 7 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 12 | 13 | 88 | Connor Zilisch | Roto-Rooter Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 13 | 1 | 81 | Chandler Smith (P) | QuickTie Toyota | 200 | 29 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 14 | 21 | 91 | Kyle Weatherman | DriveSmart Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 15 | 18 | 5 | Anthony Alfredo | Botticelli Family Owned Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 16 | 23 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Fly and Form Structures Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 17 | 25 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen # | WeatherTech Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 18 | 19 | 44 | Brennan Poole | E-Z Lift Garage Doors Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 19 | 20 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Tuscany Faucets Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 20 | 15 | 27 | Jeb Burton | OPTI-COAT/Bommarito Auto Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 21 | 22 | 26 | Ryan Truex | Toyota Genuine Parts Toyota | 199 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 22 | 10 | 8 | Sammy Smith (P) | Pilot Flying J Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 23 | 11 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | FUNKAWAY Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 24 | 12 | 19 | William Sawalich(i) | Starkey/Soundgear Toyota | 199 | 0 | Toyota TRD Supra |
| 25 | 31 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Classic Collision Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 26 | 27 | 39 | Kyle Sieg | Sci Aps Ford | 199 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 24 | 11 | Josh Williams | Star Tron Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 28 | 28 | 07 | Brad Perez | Space Beans Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 29 | 34 | 14 | Austin Green | 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 30 | 26 | 42 | Leland Honeyman # | RANDCO Industries Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 31 | 32 | 45 | Mason Maggio(i) | Sparks Boat Works/F2 Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 32 | 30 | 15 | Dylan Lupton | Lupton Excavation Ford | 196 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 29 | 74 | Dawson Cram(i) | Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 34 | 35 | 29 | Blaine Perkins | VIVID EV Ford | 195 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 37 | 35 | Armani Williams | Blue Sprig Ford | 193 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 36 | 53 | Thomas Annunziata | Criswell Chevy Chevrolet | 190 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 37 | 33 | 92 | Nick Leitz | Precision Measurements Inc. Chevrolet | 87 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro |
| 38 | 38 | 38 | Matt DiBenedetto | NBCF Ford | 56 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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