In a season shrouded in dark clouds, Cole Custer was the silver lining for Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing. The 25-year-old made history last Saturday when he won the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship. The driver of the #00 made the most ambitious of moves through turn 3 on the last lap, which could have easily gone wrong. But the move stuck, and it was so impressive that it drew comparisons to the great NBA player Michael Jordan.

Stewart-Haas Racing had an abysmal time in the Cup Series this year. The Xfinity Series was their only hope of finishing the season with something to be proud of, and Cole Custer delivered. The 25-year-old had something to prove after being demoted from the Cup Series at the end of the 2022 season, and boy did he ever. It might not be long before we see him back in the Cup again.

Cole Custer and his fearless racing draw a Michael Jordan comparison

The Xfinity Series championship race has an absolute thriller of an ending. All four title contenders were running side by side with just a couple of laps remaining before Custer took matters into his own hands. As the white flag fell, the SHR man knew he had to build a gap for those behind him as he took the lead.

On turn three, he drove up the track close to the wall to get as much momentum as possible before launching out in front, leaving the others with no chance of catching him. Running close to the wall can be dangerous, but as far as SHR is concerned, Custer got the job done. His crew chief, Jonathan Toney, was full of praise for the 25-year-old on a recent episode of the MRN Crew Call podcast.

“I had confidence in Cole. He had been getting through 3 and 4 good all night long; that’s kind of where we were making our money, I guess you would say, so I felt like if we could come off of turn 2 on the bottom, which he did, fortunately, he was able to tell you that 3 and 4 were going to be our strong suits,” the #00 crew chief said.

Toney also likened his driver’s last-lap maneuver to a Michael Jordan-esque last-minute shot to win the game. That is how impressive that incredible move up the track around turn 3 was. And much like MJ would do in his prime, Custer won the event with that move.

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“That was a Michael Jordan last-second shot type move I guess you could say through 3 and 4. He laid it all on the line and it stuck and we’re very fortunate to kick back around and get the checkered flag,” Jonathan Toney added. There were a couple of firsts in Phoenix in the Xfinity Series on Saturday. Cole Custer won the championship in his first season back in the tournament, and crew chief Jonathan Toney won the crown in his first-ever full-time Xfinity Series season.

The Xfinity Series champion hails the team for their faith

At the end of the event, Cole Custer was an emotional man. He knew that he had a point to prove after being demoted. So when he became the Xfinity Series champion, the 25-year-old could not hold his emotions back. He thanked all members of his team for having faith in him and for all the hard work.

“You get knocked down a little bit, and you just want to prove that you can go out there and do it. I think these guys have just really always believed in me all year, and I just can’t thank them enough for giving me really fast race cars and still believing in me when things weren’t going great,” the driver of the #00 said as per NASCAR.

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After his impressive season, a lot of people will have their eyes on Cole Custer to see what the future holds. In all probability, he will be back in the Cup pretty soon, but will it be for Stewart-Haas Racing? Only time will tell.