Stewart-Haas Racing’s #00 driver and its only Xfinity Series champion, Cole Custer, will lead the field from green in the desert. After a stellar campaign in 2023, winning the title in 2023, and saving the team from total disgrace, it looks like Custer is back for more as he dishes out a solid qualifying run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Cole Custer storms to the front in Las Vegas and grabs the pole

Heading to the desert, reigning and defending Xfinity Series champion, Cole Custer leads the SHR duo with a stellar qualifying run of 29.788 seconds around the mile-a-half track, ending Chandler Smith in second place, while back-to-back race winner Austin Hill starts from P5.

The 26-year-old heading into the third race of the season will start from the front, while fellow competitor Chandler Smith will start from the outside in his #81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Custer’s spectacular run comes at a time when Austin Hill bagged two back-to-back wins at the season opener at Daytona and last week’s Atlanta race, where the #00 finished P13 and P16, respectively. Racking up his third pole at the mile-and-a-half track, Custer eyes to take things back in a stride and kick off his season with a win at his favorite track.

The #00 driver starts from the front; his teammate, Riley Herbst, who is also the home track hero at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will start the race just outside the top 10 at P11. Reflecting on the race, Herbst revealed his delight in running on his home track.

Custer’s teammate shares his delight as he looks to repeat last year’s win

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Las Vegas Motor Speedway is special to 25-year-old driver Riley Herbst. The mile-and-a-half oval isn’t just Herbst’s hometown track, but also the site of his first career NASCAR national series win. The Vegas native will start Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at P11. The last time the driver raced at LVMS was in October, when Herbst won the race, dominating the field with a 14.95-second margin of victory, the largest for an Xfinity race at LVMS.

Sharing his thoughts on his return to his home track, Herbst, according to Reviewjournal.com, said, “It’s always cool to get your first win. But to do it here at home, in the city that has given so much to my family, and to do it for all my friends and family, celebrating at my hometown with all my friends, was pretty special.”

Leading the team, Riley Herbst led a race-high 103 laps that day in what was Stewart-Haas Racing’s 100th career NASCAR win. Opening his account in NASCAR, the driver is now exuding confidence. He said, “It’s just the confidence. The confidence to walk into the garage and know I can win at any single racetrack. I can lead every lap and know that I’m a contender. That’s what it takes in this sport, and I feel like I’m there now.”

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