Date: July 28, 2018
Event: U.S. Cellular 250 (Round 19 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Iowa Speedway in Newton (.875-mile oval)
Format: 250 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/130 laps)
Start/Finish: 2nd/9th (Running, completed 257 of 257 laps)
Point Standing: 3rd with 684 points
Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) in overtime
Stage 1 Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):
● Cole Custer started second, finished first and earned 10 bonus points.
● After a lap-19 caution, Custer took the lead.
● He held the Haas Automation Ford in the lead until the stage concluded.
● He pitted for four tires, fuel, and adjustments at the end of the stage.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-120):
● Custer started first, finished second and earned nine bonus points.
● Custer lost the lead in the opening laps but made the pass to the front of the field on lap 82.
● He held the lead until the closing laps of Stage 2 and just missed his second stage win of the race.
● He pitted at the end of the stage for four fresh tires, fuel and chassis adjustments.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 121-257):
● Custer started first, finished ninth.
● Custer piloted the Haas Automation Ford in the lead until lap 154.
● After pitting under green on lap 198, Custer made contact with the No. 55 car but steered his car back to second place.
● Custer pitted during a lap-240 caution for four fresh tires and fuel. He fell back to 11th place.
● During a final restart after a red-flag caution, Custer held the Haas Automation Ford inside the top-10.
Notes:
● This marks Custer’s 15th top-10 of the season and third at Iowa.
● Custer earned 19 bonus points in the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa.
● Custer led three times for a total of 104 laps.
● Six cautions slowed the race for 41 laps.
● Only 12 of the 40 drivers finished on the lead lap.
● Christopher Bell won the U.S. Cellular 250 to score his fifth career Xfinity Series victory, fourth of the season and first at Iowa. His margin of victory over second-place Justin Allgaier was 1.398 of a second.
Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing With Biagi-DenBeste:
“Stewart-Haas Racing gave us a car to compete today and I just couldn’t get it done at the end. Thanks to everyone at Ford and Haas Automation for giving us a fast car again. We lead a ton of laps, but didn’t come home with the win.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Zippo 200 on Saturday, August 4 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
