By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
It was a 1-2-3 for Cup Series talent Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway… until Cole Custer came along.
Custer, who started 12th in the Overton’s 300, was a front-runner throughout the hot day in Chicago, finishing fourth in Stage 2 and moving up to second in the final caution-free stage.
The progress on race leader Kyle Larson was interrupted by an error on the race’s final pit stop when Custer slid through his pit stall, costing the Stewart-Haas Racing team those precious seconds on track.
“I missed the box that last corner,” Custer said of the stop. “That’s all on me.”
Despite the mistake, Custer worked his way back into the top five, eventually passing Daniel Suarez to be the only XFINITY Series regular in the top four in third spot.
“I don’t know if we would’ve gotten Kyle [Larson] but we would’ve gotten one more spot,” He said. “It is what it is.”
Though still searching for his first win this year, Custer has been the symbol of consistency the past two months. The 20-year-old has managed to score now five consecutive top-five finishes in 2018, which ties for most consecutive top fives of any driver this year.
Chicago was another day near the front and it now places him as the points leader, three points ahead of Daniel Hemric.
“Just a great car,” he said. “All the guys on our Haas Automation Mustang, Stewart-Haas did great.”
Frustrated with myself on the green flag pit stop, wish I could have it back. Everyone @StewartHaasRcng gave me an unbelievable car, just wish we had one last run. It’s good to be upset with top 5’s though!👊🏻
— Cole Custer (@ColeCuster) June 30, 2018