Demoted to the Xfinity Series, Cole Custer’s Championship Win May Pave Way for Cup Return for Tony Stewart’s Mature Driver

As a driver, it must hurt to get demoted from a Cup Series ride to an Xfinity program. Cole Custer had spent the last three years as a full-time driver of the #41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. However, his lackluster performance had him demoted to the team’s Xfinity program to drive the #00 car. Obviously, he wasn’t happy about it.

However, with his first Championship win at Phoenix on Saturday, he has altered the storylines revolving around his name. Everyone seems to be praising the 25-year-old speedster. However, perhaps the words of appreciation that matter the most came from his boss. Needless to say, Custer was in utter disbelief, as the season hadn’t been that great for him since the beginning.

Cole Custer revealed the crux of his driving style

Respectful driving is all Cole Custer did in a field of crashes. Throughout the 202 laps of pure madness on the quirky oval in Arizona, near Phoenix, Cole Custer did not wreck or hard-race anyone even once. Yet, he made a risky three-wide pass following the final restart and held off Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed to seal the deal.

This victory was the third of the season for Cole Custer. It is perhaps safe to say that it was a much-needed win, especially after the slump he went throughout in the three seasons of his Cup Series career, where he produced just one victory.

Custer’s 2020 debut season started off with a perfect restart in July at Kentucky Speedway as he steered forth from 6th to the lead in a matter of merely 2 laps, to score his first but unfortunately, his only Cup Series victory. Even 2023 hasn’t been all forgiving to him. While talking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Custer said, “Honestly, at the start of the year, we were struggling. We were running 12th three weeks in a row. It was a struggle”

Finally, all the struggle has paid off. “It’s such an unbelievable night,” said the 2023 Xfinity Series champion, “To come back here with a great group of guys that truly believed in me this year, I won’t wanna do it with anybody else.” He extended his sincerest gratitude toward Gene Haas for believing in him, and his family for being there by his side through thick and thin. He admitted that the current season is one of the proudest years in his entire career. But what is his winning mantra? One might ask.

According to the SHR sensation, it’s not necessary to always be aggressive on the racetrack. “I don’t feel like I’ve ever been a guy who wrecks a lot of people, and I feel like I’m pretty respectful and hopefully that gets you somewhere nowadays. I think you try to race people fair, and I think people raced me fair tonight,” he added.

Watch this story: NASCAR Veteran Reveals Ford’s “Dead Ringer” Status at Tony Stewart’s Expense.

Food for thought: has Cole Custer done enough to get him his coveted Cup ride back in 2024? Although it’s totally up to wild guesses, a little guesswork doesn’t hurt, does it?

Tony Stewart showered his driver with praises; is it time for a promotion?

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Cole Custer has had the most success as a development driver in the Xfinity Series from 2017 to 2019. In these three years, he won 9 races besides a series-high seven in 2019, when he put up an impressive battle against Tyler Reddick in the championship run for the second consecutive year. Since then, Cole Custer has come a long way.

For all the disappointment that Cole Custer had to swallow, Saturday’s victory might give him some solace. And perhaps, a promotion to the topmost tier of NASCAR? Let’s hear what Tony Stewart had to say about his driver.

“To have to go back to the Xfinity series, I know he wasn’t happy about that, but this is why. And he’s gained so much confidence over the season,” said Smoke, “Hasn’t been a perfect year by any means, but in the playoffs, they have done a great job. The drive that he had today was amazing.”

“Especially that last restart, I thought he gave it away going into 1 and what he did on the entry to run 1 and off at turn 2 is amazing. He kept his composure and that shows his maturity,” he added.

But is he mature enough to drive a Cup car yet? We don’t know for sure. Nevertheless, let’s keep the conversation rolling in the comments section below!

Read more: Tony Stewart Gets Dead Serious; Has “Bad News” for Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing & Co