CREW CHIEF: Jonathan Toney
TEAM: Stewart-Haas Racing
POINTS: First in Xfinity Series
WINS: Three (Portland, Chicago, Phoenix II)
LAPS LED: 586
TOP 5s: 14
TOP 10s: 21
STARTS FROM POLE: Six (Phoenix I, Martinsville I, Nashville, Chicago, Bristol, Homestead)
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Custer won on a road course in Xfinity for the first time. He then won the inaugural Chicago street race after leading all 25 laps of the rain-shortened event.
Custer made it to the Championship 4 for the third time in his Xfinity career. This time, he achieved his goal of winning the season finale and the title after runner-up finishes in 2018 and ’19.
Custer led 96 laps and won stage 2 at Phoenix. He lost the lead on the overtime restart but recovered and passed fellow championship contenders Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek before taking the checkered flag.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Custer had a slow start to the season. He finished ninth at Daytona, 27th at Fontana, 12th at Las Vegas, 12th at Phoenix and 32nd at Circuit of the Americas. This put him near the cutline heading into the seventh race of the season.
Custer scored two wins and posted 11 straight top-10 finishes after his slow start. He then went through another multi-race stretch where he was not in contention for wins. He finished 22nd at Loudon, 33rd at Pocono, 30th at Road America and 16th at Michigan.
Custer did not win any races during the first two rounds of the playoffs. He only made it to the Championship 4 by one point after Allgaier won the Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville over Sheldon Creed.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2024: Custer will be back in Xfinity to defend his title. The expectation is that he will contend for several wins and a deep playoff run. The Xfinity field is deep, especially with the return of AJ Allmendinger and the addition of Shane van Gisbergen. A spot in the Championship 4 isn’t guaranteed. Though Custer will likely remain a factor.
