July 13, 2024 | By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Cole Custer holds on to win Xfinity race at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. — Reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer claimed his first win of the 2024 season Saturday, beating his closest championship challenger Justin Allgaier to the Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 checkered flag and giving Ford its first series win of the year.

Custer’s No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford took the lead from Allgaier on a restart with nine laps remaining and then held off the JR Motorsports Chevrolet by 0.670 seconds to secure his 14th career victory in a thrilling finish at Pocono Raceway. He becomes the first driver to win multiple Xfinity Series races at the historic 2.5-mile track — answering his 2019 win.

“You just try to manage it the best you can, but it’s kind of the luck of the draw who gets the best push,” a smiling Custer said of having to hold off perennial championship contender Allgaier and third-place finisher Cup Series regular William Byron in the closing laps.

“That was some Doug Yates horsepower right there. We definitely had it on the straightaways and man, I just can’t say enough about these guys. They’ve worked so hard this whole year and just haven’t had that final result. To finally get it, is so awesome.”

Allgaier led a race-best 30 of 90 laps with the 25-year-old Californian Custer out front for 25 laps — the two drivers each winning a stage. For Allgaier, his Stage 1 victory was a series-best 11th, but a pit-road penalty during the ensuing pit stop forced him to work his way back up through the field.

And even with all the impressive race statistics and compelling comeback story lines Saturday, it was missing out on the trophy after such a strong showing that stuck with Allgaier when he climbed out of his Chevrolet.

“Really proud of everyone at JR Motorsports, just really stinks to come out of here second,” Allgaier said. “Led so many laps here and feel like the same result every time, just not able to go to Victory Lane … just came up a little short and it’s going to sting for a little while.”

This year’s Daytona 500 winner and the 2017 Xfinity Series champion Byron was making his third Xfinity Series start of the season and kept the field honest, leading 17 laps.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Sheldon Creed and Taylor Gray rounded out the top five. Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman and JR Motorsports teammates Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer rounded out the top 10.

Custer extended his lead atop the Xfinity Series championship and now holds a 51-point advantage on Allgaier. With seven races remaining to set the 12-driver playoff field, Smith holds a 23-point edge over Ryan Sieg for that 12th position.

The Xfinity Series returns to action next Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Pennzoil 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Ty Gibbs won the race last year on the Indianapolis road course. However, Kyle Busch won the last Xfinity Series race on the famed 2.5-mile oval in 2019.

Note: Post-race technical inspection was completed without any issues, confirming Custer as the race winner. The Nos. 17 and 18 will be taken back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina, for teardown.



NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Number 19
Race Results for the Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 - Saturday, July 13, 2024
Pocono Raceway - Long Pond, PA - 2.5 - Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 90 Laps - 225. Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 7/13/2024 @ 06:06 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 8 00 Cole Custer Haas Automation Ford 90 2 1 59 Running 2 25 6
2 3 7 Justin Allgaier Carolina Carports Chevrolet 90 1 10 46 Running 2 30 1
3 6 17 William Byron(i) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 90 4  0 Running 2 16
4 1 18 Sheldon Creed Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota 90 10 7 38 Running 1 7
5 4 19 Taylor Gray(i) Operation 300 Toyota 90   0 Running  
6 10 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 90 5 6 42 Running  
7 11 21 Austin Hill Global Industrial Chevrolet 90 6 3 43 Running 1 1
8 15 48 Parker Kligerman Spiked Lite Tropical Coolers Chevrolet 90   29 Running  
9 9 8 Sammy Smith Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 90 9 8 33 Running  
10 12 1 Sam Mayer RTIC Outdoors Chevrolet 90   27 Running  
11 18 98 Riley Herbst Monster Energy Ford 90 7 4 37 Running  
12 7 39 Ryan Sieg Sci Aps Ford 90 8 5 34 Running 1 4
13 2 9 Brandon Jones Menards/Cheez-it Chevrolet 90   24 Running  
14 16 5 Anthony Alfredo Botticelli/Shop Rite Chevrolet 90   23 Running  
15 5 81 Chandler Smith Smith General Contracting Toyota 90 3 2 39 Running  
16 25 26 Corey Heim(i) Lehigh Valley Phantoms Toyota 90  9 0 Running  
17 20 10 Daniel Dye(i) Champion Container Chevrolet 90   0 Running  
18 22 11 Josh Williams Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet 90   19 Running  
19 34 20 Ryan Truex Certified Collision Center Toyota 90   18 Running  
20 33 28 Kyle Sieg US Hydrations Ford 90   17 Running  
21 17 27 Jeb Burton Puryear Tank Lines Chevrolet 90   16 Running  
22 19 2 Jesse Love # Whelen Chevrolet 90   15 Running 2 7
23 21 91 Kyle Weatherman DriveSmartWarranty.com Chevrolet 90   14 Running  
24 23 38 Matt DiBenedetto Rema Ford 90   13 Running  
25 28 42 Leland Honeyman # RANDCO Industries Chevrolet 90   12 Running  
26 27 44 Brennan Poole Members 1st Chevrolet 90   11 Running  
27 14 15 Josh Berry(i) VIVA Tequila Seltzer Ford 90   0 Running  
28 37 4 Thomas Annunziata Teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 90   9 Running  
29 31 14 Mason Massey(i) Real American Beer Ford 90   0 Running  
30 24 51 Jeremy Clements Spartan Waste/Fox Sports 98.3 Chevrolet 90   7 Running  
31 26 97 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 90   6 Running  
32 13 31 Parker Retzlaff FUNKAWAY Chevrolet 89   5 Running  
33 32 07 Patrick Emerling Camelback Resort Chevrolet 89   4 Running  
34 35 29 Blaine Perkins AutoParkit.com Ford 72   3 Suspension  
35 38 35 Stephen Mallozzi(i) GreatPoconoHomes.com Chevrolet 68   2 Engine  
36 30 43 Ryan Ellis Sweetwater Construction Corp Chevrolet 47   1 Accident  
37 29 92 Josh Bilicki Rita's Ice Chevrolet 8   1 Electrical  
38 36 74 Dawson Cram(i) 10 Mil Brewing Co. Chevrolet 1   0 Accident  

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 8 Mins, 26 Secs. Average Speed: 105.113 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.670 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 7, 00, 81, 17, 16, 21, 98, 39, 8, 18
Stage 2 Top 10: 00, 81, 21, 98, 39, 16, 18, 8, 26, 7

Caution Flags: 8 for 30 laps; Laps: 3-6 (No. 74 Incident Turn 1 [None]); 22-25 (Stage 1 Conclusion [9]); 28-30 (Debris Turn 1 [15]); 42-46 (Stage 2 Conclusion [15]); 48-50 (Nos. 29, 31, 42, 43, 44 Incident Turn 1 [None]); 70-74 (No. 35 mechanical backstretch [29]); 76-78 (Nos. 14, 51 Incident Turn 2 [98]); 84-86 (No. 1, 97 Incident Turn 2 [2]).

Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers; S. Creed 1-7; J. Allgaier 8-22; J. Love # 23-25; C. Custer 26-41; W. Byron(i) 42-50; J. Love # 51-54; W. Byron(i) 55-61; A. Hill 62; R. Sieg 63-66; J. Allgaier 67-81; C. Custer 82-90.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: July 20, 2024 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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