Tony Stewart’s Employee’s Questionably “Weird” Act Leaves 23XI Insider Scratching His Head

Ryan Truex snagged a win in a heart-pounding double-overtime showdown at the BetRivers 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Dover, but for a hot minute, it looked like Cole Custer had it in the bag. It became clear that the race wasn’t over when NASCAR told the drivers to stay inside their cars. But there was a mix-up in Tony Stewart‘s drivers’ camp.

Yes, it was Cole Custer’s crew that thought the red flag signaled the end of the race and that he had won since he was leading at that moment. And guess what? The odd reaction didn’t go unnoticed. Freddie Kraft from the 23XI Racing team even chatted about it on the Door Bumper Clear, pointing out how the whole scenario unfolded.

Cole Custer’s team mistake their position during chaotic double-overtime 

It looks like it was all a big misunderstanding after all. The race was briefly halted under red flag conditions for a light rain, with 34 laps remaining. Cole Custer, who led a race-best 95 of the 208 laps, was leading at the time and then decided to pit for tires and fuel during yellow flag laps just before the cars restarted. He had to restart at the tail end of the field, but the reigning series champion rallied back to a fifth-place finish, able to advance on three ensuing caution periods plus the double overtime.

With the caution period being extended due to the rain, the field led by Custer was directed to pit road with 33 laps remaining, and the event was placed in a weather delay that spanned more than 12 minutes. Once the red flag period was lifted and the field returned to the track at a cautious pace, select names, including Custer, pitted while the rest, led by Allgaier, remained on the track. Cole Custer led 95 laps and won Stage 2, but finished P5 behind Ryan Truex, who only led two laps, Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer, and Sheldon Creed, who only led three laps. It was a sad weekend for the SHR driver, right?

But his team had already started their victory cheers way too early, which caught Freddie Kraft’s attention. On his podcast, Kraft shared his thoughts, and said, “What I thought was weird was I don’t know who it is but the double zero crew chief, I mean, when the yellow come out they’re celebrating on the box like they just won the race. And I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t see that’. You know I’m not, I don’t know what he’s looking at verus what I’m looking at.”

Freddie Kraft also mentioned that this mix-up was their biggest blunder of the night. Despite the setback, which saw Custer restarting from the back due to the rain delay and a penalty, he managed to claw his way back to a commendable fifth-place finish, in part to three additional cautions and the ensuing double overtime.

But why did the team think the race was already in the bag?

Misjudgments on the track led to some tense moments at Dover

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The Stewart-Haas Racing driver, sporting one of the speediest cars of the day, led a solid 95 laps, wrapping up the first stage in third place and winning the second, racking up valuable points, yet a race win for 2024 remained elusive.

Cole Custer seemed poised for a win with just 42 laps left when a light rain brought out the caution flag while he was leading. When the race was set to resume, Custer pitted in a still-closed pit lane, which forced him to restart from the back. Allgaier and Hill battled closely against one another for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch until Allgaier went wide and up the track in Turn 3. This allowed Hill to muscle ahead with the lead as Kvapil moved into the runner-up spot while Allgaier was left to battle Creed and Mayer to retain third place.

Later, after the second overtime, when the white flag waved and the final lap started, Truex was leading by two-tenths of a second over Kvapil as Mayer, Creed, and Custer battled for third place. With the checkered flag being displayed alongside the caution flag, Truex was able to coast his No. 20 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Supra back to the front stretch victorious for a second consecutive season at the Monster Mile.

Yet, for Cole Custer, a number of cautions and two overtime dashes allowed him to claw his way back to fifth by the race’s end. While victory lane is still just out of reach, Custer’s consistent seven top-10 finishes since Atlanta keep him a contender. Sitting just one point behind Chandler Smith in the points standings, Custer is knocking on the door of victory as the series takes a breather this week.