CHICAGO, Ill. – Before NASCAR Cup Series drivers race on Sunday, their counterparts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series will take to the Chicago Street Race in Saturday’s The Loop 121 (5 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Cole Custer has spent plenty of time on a simulated version of the 2.2-mile street course, but he won’t experience the reality of the urban circuit until the weekend.
“No one has raced this course before, so we really won’t know what to expect until we hit the track for practice on Saturday,” said Custer, who nailed down a Playoff berth with his victory on the Portland International Raceway road course on June 3.
“The good news is that we’re all on an equal playing field. It’s such an unknown on the schedule, but I’m excited for the challenge. We’ve been fast all year, so hopefully that continues this weekend at Chicago.”
Custer has climbed to fourth in the Xfinity Series standings on the strength of nine straight top-10 finishes. After a slow start to the season, he has established himself as a formidable championship contender.
“I think we’ve found the rhythm that we were missing in the beginning part of the season,” said the Stewart-Haas Racing driver. “We’re starting to hit our stride, and this top-10 streak and the Portland win show that. When we started the season, we were a brand new team, so we had to work on communication and figuring out what I needed in this No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang.
“I’m happy with where we are as a team at this point in the season. We’ve got our win to get us into the Playoffs, so now we can just focus on getting our car faster so we can make that run for the championship.”
Source: Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service
