Cole Custer breaks silence on JGR rival’s text after his Daytona 500 wreck, revealing what he would’ve done instead

2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer returned to the Cup Series with the Haas Factory Team at the Daytona 500 on February 16, 2025. However, he had an unexpected run and got involved in a pair of wrecks, including Ryan Preece's flip. Custer broke his silence about the incident and revealed what he would have done.

With just four laps to go, RFK Racing driver Ryan Preece's car went airborne and flipped in the middle of the track. This incident started after Cole Custer hit the bumper of Christopher Bell's car, resulting in an airborne crash, that thankfully didn't go south.

The Haas Factory driver went on an interview with NASCAR analyst Bob Pockrass and told him:

“I looked back at that one too, and Christopher actually texted me on Monday. He’s like, ‘Yeah, my car just couldn’t really take a push that great all day.’ So there weren’t really any hard feelings, it seems like there. I mean if I was going to do it again I wish I got just a tick more square on him. Maybe that would have helped it.” [01:18]

“But yeah, I hated it because honestly I think that was the first time I’ve ever wrecked anybody at a superspeedway off my bumper. So after I felt horrible, but when you look back at it, I mean, it sounds like he was kind of chasing his car a little bit,” he concluded. [01:52]

The Ladera Ranch, California, native debuted in the Cup Series in 2018 with Rick Ware Racing and competed in three races. In the 2020 season, he moved to the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion team Stewart-Haas Racing. Custer competed in three seasons with the team and secured his first and only Cup Series victory at the Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway in 2020.

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“You’re not gonna win by door-slamming”: Denny Hamlin on Cole Custer's last lap chaos

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin recently issued "healthy advice" to fellow Cup Series driver Cole Custer after the #41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse driver scuffled with him during the Daytona 500. Hamlin said that Custer and his team cannot win races by "door slamming" their opponents.

Hamlin saw it all in 'The Great American Race' from not having a chance to win the race to getting close to taking his fourth win and eventually having to settle for 24th place. The Joe Gibbs driver got involved in a last-lap wreck, shattering his chances. Hamlin spoke up about his issue with Custer's move during the penultimate lap.

Reflecting upon the same, the #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver stated:

"I tried to be calculated in the post-race. Let me try to give the benefit of the doubt to Cole (Custer) here and the #41 team. Like, let me give you some healthy advice, like from someone that has done this for 20 years. You're not gonna win it by door slamming on the backstretch. You always have to live to see the final corner." (via Action Detrimental podcast)

During the final lap, Hamlin and Austin Cindric were side by side, not leaving space for each other, resulting in contact. Cole Custer was behind Hamlin and jumped to the right to block him, resulting in last-minute chaos on the track.

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron clinched his second consecutive Daytona 500 title. Meanwhile, Cole Custer finished in P21, and Bell's run resulted in a DNF.