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Cole Custer Dominates To Win Food City 300 At Bristol And Regular Season Championship

by Hunter Thomas September 20, 2024 1 comment

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Cole Custer dominated the final laps of Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway to capture the Regular Season Championship and his first victory at the Last Great Colosseum.

Custer’s night started off with a bang. On Lap 3, he hit the wall and brought out the first caution, and on top of that, he finished the race on his last set of tires as well.

“It’s unbelievable,” Custer said. “These guys never give up. It’s been a tough month, but to be able to lead into the playoffs like this, we’re gonna really bring it to them.”

Throughout the night, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver was strong. He finished out Stage 1 in seventh after driving through the field, and in Stage 2, he finished second. The closing laps of the race went caution free for more than 90 laps, and Custer had to navigate lapped traffic and hold the top contenders at bay on old tires. In the end, he held on for his second victory of the season. He also won the Regular Season Championship after Justin Allgaier finished 30^th after crashing on multiple occasions.

“It’s a testament to these guys,” Custer said. “It’s been a really hard month, but everyone at the shop really kept their heads in it. I can’t thank High Point enough. It’s awesome to get them a win. Ford Performance. All the guys did such a great job. It was an unbelievable car all night. I’m ready to get to the playoffs.”

Sheldon Creed was hot in Custer’s tracks, but he just couldn’t get through lapped traffic fast enough to chase him down and challenge for the lead. The good news for Creed is that he will advance to the NASCAR Playoffs.

“I was just trying to pace with him (Custer), and then I pancaked the fence all by myself, and then I hit it four or five more times, and I felt like I never really recovered after that,” Creed said. “Just was a little too tight at the end of the run when we got to lap traffic, when I would get close. I just needed to turn a little bit better. We are really consistent with our Toyota team– another second. I’ll take it and we will keep moving forward.”

Polesitter Chandler Smith finished third, followed by Jesse Love and Ryan Truex. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. overcame radio issues to finish seventh.

Ryan Sieg, Sam Mayer and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10.

Smith won Stage 1 and South Carolina’s Jeremy Clements won Stage 2.

There were 11 lead changes among nine drivers. Custer led a race high of 104 laps.

The caution flag was displayed on seven occasions for 57 laps.

The seeding for the NASCAR Playoffs has now been set. Justin Allgaier will lead the series into the Playoffs at +27, followed by Cole Custer (+21), Austin Hill (+18), Chadler Smith (+17), Shane Van Gisbergen (+10), Jesse Love (+6), Sam Mayer (+4), Riley Herbst (+3), Sheldon Creed (-3), AJ Allmendinger (-4), Sammy Smith (-9) and Parker Kligerman (-12).

The opening round will take place at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 28. Live coverage of the Kansas Lottery 300 will broadcast on the CW at 4 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com