Cole Custer

Cole Custer

25-Year-Old Driver  
Stewart Haas Racing
Stewart Haas Racing
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Custer makes a full-time return to the Xfinity Series after a three-season cup of coffee in NASCAR's top division. Things didn't quite work out in SHR's Cup car, but he got a pretty favorable landing in the Xfinity Series and the No. 00 Ford entry. Custer is a 10-time winner in this division of NASCAR and finished runner-up in the championship chase in both 2018 and 2019, so he's no stranger to dominating in this series. The 25-year-old Californian made five starts last year in the Xfinity Series and turned some heads with his one victory and three Top-10 finishes in the under-equipped No. 07 Ford of SS-Green Light Racing. Custer is talented and will be eager to succeed in this really good team situation. Read Past Outlooks
Wins Xfinity Series Championship
XFINITY Series
November 4, 2023
By virtue of winning the Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway Saturday night, Custer was declared the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
ANALYSIS
Custer led a race-high 96 laps and would advance into NASCAR overtime as a late caution setup a dramatic finish. The driver of the No. 00 Ford held off Sheldon Creed and Justin Allgaier to capture the win Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway. It was his third win of the season and first Xfinity Series championship title.
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Racing Stats
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Track Stats
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Cole Custer See More
NASCAR Xfinity DFS: Xfinity Series Championship
38 days ago
Justin Allgaier is looking for that elusive Xfinity Series Championship at one of his best tracks. Dane Shinault gives his best DFS values and strategy tips for Saturday's race at Phoenix.
NASCAR Xfinity DFS: Dead On Tools 250
45 days ago
It's been a tough season for Josh Berry, but nobody in this field has more experience at Martinsville. Dane Shinault features the driver of the No. 8 in his optimal lineup for the Xfinity Series race Saturday.
NASCAR Xfinity DFS: Contender Boats 300
52 days ago
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back for his second Xfinity Series race of the season after a strong run at Bristol. Dane Shinault gives us his strategy along with his optimal lineup for Saturday's race at Homestead.
NASCAR Xfinity DFS: Drive for the Cure 250
66 days ago
Cole Custer is hoping to pick up his third road course win of the season at the Charlotte Roval. Dane Shinault is back with some top picks for an Xfinity race without four-time Roval winner AJ Allmendinger.
YellaWood 500 Preview: The Wild Card of the Chase
75 days ago
Ryan Blaney has struggled to find speed for months, but Talladega might be the perfect place to get back on track. Mark Taylor previews the YellaWood 500 and tells us the drivers who excel on the big ovals.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2014
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year was another greatly-affected Stewart Haas Racing driver last season. This team's power outage hit all four of their drivers, but Custer especially hard. After a 16th-place finish in the points and a win in his rookie season, Custer regressed to 26th-place in the points and logged only two Top-20 finishes in all of 2021. The lack of performance saw the young driver tumble precipitously down the driver standings. Custer and his team return intact for the upcoming season. They'll go to work immediately on a rebound performance closer to what Custer experienced in his rookie campaign. He was a nine-time winner in the Xfinity Series and finished runner-up in the championship twice in that division of NASCAR. Custer's talents are obvious, and it shouldn't be too difficult for him to rebound in 2022.
It was an incredibly successful first season of Cup Series racing for Custer. He waged a year-long battle with Tyler Reddick and finally prevailed to win 2020 Rookie of the Year. Custer's one win (Kentucky) and seven Top-10 performance was enough for him to finally pull away from Reddick and win that honor. He'll look to up the ante in 2021 as he and crew chief Mike Shiplett return for season 2 in NASCAR's top division. Custer is as the old cliché goes "the goods". The soon-to-be 23-year old driver is seasoned and skilled beyond his years, and proved to be a quick study behind the wheel in his first full season of Cup Series racing. Things went a bit lean for Custer in the final weeks of the season, but he should rebound nicely this season. If we see improvement and growth similar to other young drivers the past few years, Custer should likely steal another victory and push his Top 10 totals easily into the double digits.
The 21-year-old prospect is ascending to the Cup Series in 2020. Custer is coming off a seven-win Xfinity Series campaign and runner-up points finish last season. The Stewart Haas Racing prodigy has done nothing but win at every stage of his racing development, and now he'll take over the very capable No. 41 Ford team at SHR. Custer brings his Xfinity Series crew chief, Mike Shiplett, in the move up to NASCAR's top division. This is a great move, and that established chemistry should help ease this often difficult transition. Custer piled up eight victories, 31 Top-5 and 50 Top-10 finishes over his last two seasons of racing in the Xfinity Series, so he is ready to take this step up. He won't be ready to win right out of the gate, so development will take some time. We would expect Custer to post rookie season numbers that are modestly better than what Daniel Suarez achieved in the same car last season.
Custer was a little slow to start, but finished last season strong. He would end up with one victory and 26 Top-10 finishes. Custer would pilot the team's Ford in the season finale at Homestead and race for the championship. The SHR youngster put on an impressive show, winning the pole and leading 95 laps, but he would fall second to Tyler Reddick in the race and the championship. It was a great campaign for the 21-year-old and good development of his racing skill. Custer will return to the team and seek the championship again in 2019, although he'll have to do it with a new crew chief. Jeff Meendering moved to Joe Gibbs Racing during the off-season, so Custer will have a new face atop the tool box in the upcoming season.
One of the strongest performing and most impressive drivers of the stretch run last season was Custer. He earned more points (383) than any other driver over the final 10 races of last season. Custer also racked up one win and eight Top-10 finishes during that stretch run. His victory came in the season finale at Homestead and served as an exclamation point on this season, and a peek of the future. Custer wound up an impressive fifth in the final point standings, and that will be a mark to shoot past in 2018. This driver/team/operation gelled at the end of last season, now they're set to impress. We look for Custer to win multiple races in the upcoming season and to challenge for the championship.
This young driver was so talented that Dale Earnhardt Jr. basically started a truck series team from scratch just to give Custer a ride the last two seasons. He opened eyes when he became the youngster winner in NASCAR touring series history at age 16 and that made Earnhardt a believer in his skills. Custer's time in the truck series is now complete with two wins and 24 Top 10's spread across just 42 starts. He'll take over the initial entry into the Xfinity Series by Stewart Haas Racing. This new team and rookie driver will go head-to-head with William Byron for the ROTY honors in 2017. Custer will be teamed with talented crew chief, Jeff Meendering, in the No. 00 Ford team. New teams can be surprising or they can be underperforming. In the case of Custer, his talent should elevate this team quickly to overcome any growing pains.
This skilled young driver makes the jump from part-time competition to full-time competition in this racing series this season. Custer opened eyes in 2014 at the age of 16 when he became the youngest winner in Camping World Truck Series history with his big win at Loudon. Dale Earnhardt Jr. saw enough of the young Californian tearing up the K&N Pro Series in both the East and West to put together a part-time truck series team for him. Custer hasn’t disappointed since given the opportunity. In just 19-combined starts over the last two years, he’s claimed two wins, three poles and 10 Top-10 finishes in those 19 starts. It will be exciting to see what Custer can do in a full 23-race slate. The sky’s the limit for this young driver and strong race team.
More Fantasy News
Wins Homestead Xfinity Pole
XFINITY Series
October 20, 2023
Custer won the pole for Saturday's Contender Boats 300 Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday. He turned a fast lap of 165.604 mph.
ANALYSIS
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Third in Alsco Uniforms 302
XFINITY Series
October 15, 2023
Custer finished third in the Alsco Uniforms 302 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon.
ANALYSIS
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Runner-up Finish at the ROVAL
XFINITY Series
October 7, 2023
Custer finished second in the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval Saturday afternoon.
ANALYSIS
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Grabs Xfinity Pole at Bristol
XFINITY Series
September 15, 2023
Custer won the pole for the Food City 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday afternoon. He turned a fast lap of 122.341 mph.
ANALYSIS
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Docked five playoff points
XFINITY Series
August 9, 2023
Custer was docked 20 regular-season points and 5 playoff points following an issue found with the splitter during pre-qualifying inspection at Michigan, Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports reports.
ANALYSIS
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