Page 190 - 2019_NPPG_digital copy

COLE CUSTER

Birth Date: January 23, 1998 Hometown: Ladera Ranch, CA
Birth Date: August 12, 1993 Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Team: No. 00 Ford Mustang / Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste
Team: No. 16 Toyota Tundra/Roush Fenway Racing

While Cole Custer likely had an easier path to landing a ride in the No. 00 Ford
Mustang at Stewart-Haas Racing, the son of team executive vice president Joe
Custer certainly has pulled his own weight.

A victory at the fall race at the Texas Motor Speedway was one of 26
top-10 finishes in 33 starts, and it propelled him to a second-place
finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings.

There is little doubt, however, that Custer and his Stewart-
FEATURED DRIVERS will be among the favorites to capture the title in 2019,
Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste No. 00 Ford Mustang

given that Custer has been a winner at every level
at which he’s ever raced.

Cole Custer and SHR will begin their third season
in the series, aligned with the former series veteran
Biagi-DenBeste Racing organization.

Custer finished fifth in points in his rookie Xfinity Series

campaign in 2017. He posted a victory, seven top-five and 19
top-10 finishes.

Custer started on the ground floor, spending three seasons – one as a
full-time driver – in the NASCAR GANDER OUTDOOR Truck Series. He
won twice and finished 10th in points as a full-time driver in 2016.

He was promoted to the Xfinity Series for five races in 2016, then to a full-
time schedule a year later. Custer has proven to be a top-level driver since.

His last-lap pass of eventual series champion Tyler Reddick at Texas last

November was even more proof.

“I knew I had to make it happen in Turns 1 and 2,” Custer said of his
winning move at Texas. “I turned into Turn 1 five car lengths deeper than

190 THE OFFICIAL NASCAR 2019 PREVIEW & PRESS GUIDE