The youth movement promoted in NASCAR through the NASCAR NEXT program has started to reach more milestones with Cole Custer taking the 100th win by an alum in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was in the NASCAR NEXT program in 2014 and 2015. Custer was one of 59 drivers that participated in the driver development program from 2011 through 2018. About half of the drivers featured are still active across the three National Touring Series.
15 of the drivers involved in the program have won in the Xfinity Series with William Byron, Custer, Chase Elliott, and Daniel Suarez each winning the championship. Six years after the final NASCAR NEXT class, the program’s alumni reached 100 victories in the Xfinity Series with Custer in the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono Raceway.
Custer took the lead just before the final caution of the 225-mile race. The driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse easily held off charges from Justin Allgaier and Byron to cruise to his 14th career win.
“That was a really cool program,” Custer recalled. “I don’t think they have anything like it right now, it doesn’t seem like, but there’s a lot of guys that are in that deal. You know, even Brandon McReynolds, I was teammates with him over there, he’s standing over there. But he works at a high level in the sport now.
“It’s cool to see people that you’ve been around — that was 10 years ago, and seeing how that’s progressed and seeing those same guys have success. It’s really cool that that program was around. It just gave people something to strive for, I think, too, when you’re a younger guy, to be a part of that program.”
Several drivers that were in the program such as McReynolds, Julia Landauer, and Ben Kennedy still work in the industry, but not as drivers. McReynolds is a spotter that sometimes appears on TV broadcasts, podcasts, and radio. Kennedy is now NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Venue and Racing Innovations Officer.
The victory at Pocono locks the Ladera Ranch, Calif. native into the Xfinity Series playoffs. Despite the win, the defending champion was leading the points standings entering ‘The Tricky Triangle.’
The NASCAR Next alum is now poised to move back into the NASCAR Cup Series next season with Haas Factory Team. Custer will take over the No. 41 Ford, currently driven by another NASCAR NEXT alum, Ryan Preece.
