Information By: ASHLYN SISKE / STEWART-HAAS RACING – BRISTOL, TN
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Food City 300
Date: Sept. 20, 2024
Event: Food City 300 (Round 26 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 300 laps, broken into three stages (85 laps/85 laps/130 laps)
Race Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Chandler Smith of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Jeremy Clements of Jeremy Clements Racing (Chevrolet)
SHR Race Finish:
● Cole Custer (Started 2nd / Finished 1st, Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
● Riley Herbst (Started 15th / Finished 13th, Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
SHR Regular Season Points:
● Cole Custer (1st with 911 points)
● Riley Herbst (8th with 752 points, 159 out of first)
SHR Playoffs:
● Cole Custer qualified for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs by virtue of his two victories this season – July 13 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and tonight.
● This is Custer’s fifth playoff appearance.
● Custer is the reigning 2023 Xfinity Series Championship and chasing his second title.
● Riley Herbst qualified for the playoffs by virtue of his July 20 win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
● This is Herbst’s fourth playoff appearance.
Victory Notes:
● Custer’s victory at Bristol marked SHR’s 28th Xfinity Series victory, its third of the season, and its second at Bristol.
● This was SHR’s 105th overall victory (70 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series wins, six non-points-paying NASCAR Cup Series wins, 28 Xfinity Series wins and one ARCA Menards Series West win)
● This was Custer’s 15th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and his 14th with SHR.
SHR Notes:
● Custer earned his second victory of the season and his first victory in eight career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Bristol.
● Custer has only finished outside the top-10 twice in eight starts at Bristol.
● This was Custer’s second straight top-five at Bristol. He finished fourth last September.
● Custer’s win bettered his previous best finish at Bristol – third, earn in April 2019.
● Custer finished seventh in Stage 1 to earn four bonus points and second in Stage 2 to earn nine more bonus points.
● Custer led three times for 104 laps increasing his laps led total at Bristol to 244.
● Herbst earned his 16th top-15 finish of the season and his fifth top-15 finish in six career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Bristol.
● Herbst has only finished outside the top-15 once at Bristol. He hasn’t finished outside the top-15 at Bristol since joining SHR in 2021.
● This was Herbst’s second straight top-15. He finished 13th last Saturday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
● Herbst finished seventh in Stage 2 to earn four bonus points.
Race Notes:
● Cole Custer won the Food City 300 to score his 15th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Bristol. His margin over second-place Sheldon Creed was .896 of a second.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 57 laps.
● Seventeen of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Custer is the NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Champion by a three-point advantage over Justin Allgaier.
Playoff Standings:
1. Justin Allgaier (2,034 points)
2. Cole Custer (2,028 points, -6)
3. Austin Hill (2,025 points, -9)
4. Chandler Smith (2,024 points, -10)
5. Shane Van Gisbergen (2,017 points, -17)
6. Jesse Love (2,013 points, -21)
7. Sam Mayer (2,011 points, -23)
8. Riley Herbst (2,010 points, -24)
9. Sheldon Creed (2,007 points, -27)
10. AJ Allmendinger (2,006 points, -28)
11. Sammy Smith (2,001 points, -33)
12. Parker Kligerman (1,998 points, -36)
Sound Bites:
“Man, it’s just unbelievable. It’s a testament to these guys. It’s been a really hard month, but everyone at the shop really kept their heads in it. I can’t thank HighPoint.com and Ford Performance enough. It’s awesome to get them both a win. All the guys did such a great job. It was an unbelievable car all night. I’m ready to get to the playoffs. It’s huge to get this momentum because our confidence was going down there this last month, so to get this win really means a lot. What a car. What a race. I mean, these guys did such a great job with this thing. I can’t thank HighPoint enough. Every race we’ve wanted to do better with them and this was finally a race we put it all together. It was just an unbelievable car. I could really drive through the field and do everything I needed. It’s a real testament to what this team can bring to the playoffs.” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“I guess it’s good for Stewart-Haas Racing with Cole being in Victory Lane. That was cool to see. It’s good for us, but we just missed it tonight. I don’t know. We weren’t good in practice and didn’t qualify well, and then we didn’t have much pace in the race, either. I feel like when we execute, we’re one of the fastest teams for sure, but tonight wasn’t one of those nights. We’ll have to figure out why and what I need better, but we’ll go to work. I think we’ll be really competitive in the playoffs. I’m excited for it, and hopefully, we can step up to the plate.” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Kansas Lottery 300 on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. This is the first race of the playoffs and the first of the Round of 12. The race begins at 4 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by CW and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.