On November 16, Stewart-Haas Racing confirmed that Cole Custer will return to the Xfinity Series in 2023.
Cole Custer has only competed in one race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, but he is off to a fast start. Now, the No. 00 driver has revealed one of the reasons for the car's early success.
Custer spoke with members of the media just days after he and Riley Herbst both finished in the top ten at Daytona International Speedway. He shed light on their partnership and revealed how communication has been crucial early in the 2023 season. Custer told the media:
“This year, working with Riley has been a lot of fun so far. I think we’ve worked really well together and communicated very well. We honestly have a pretty good atmosphere as a team right now, where we work as one group."
“We communicate a lot. We’re able to really bounce ideas off each other and it’s one of the best environments I’ve seen with that. We’re able to work together a lot, so we just have to keep digging throughout the year."
He did not win at Daytona International Speedway, but the No. 00 driver was able to provide good results. He added:
“I think we’ve got a good group that really wants to work together and really wants to just communicate extremely well. If we can do that and make sure we get everything checked and cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s before the weekends, I think we’ll have many shots to win races.”
Cole Custer's 2023 season will be different
Riley Herbst has been Stewart-Haas Racing's only Xfinity Series driver for the previous two seasons. He's been on his own while vying for playoff points, but he suddenly has Cole Custer as his teammate.
This teamwork is critical since Herbst has been on the verge of winning numerous times. Custer, on the other hand, has 10 career series victories. The expectation is that the two drivers will be able to work together and get both SHR vehicles into the playoffs. Cole Custer said:
“Obviously, Daytona you have to have a little bit of luck on your side and sometimes you don’t get the finish that you want, but I feel like we had a solid weekend and now we’ve just got to keep that going into Fontana."