NASCAR has come down hard on Stewart-Haas Racing Xfinity Series wheelman Cole Custer’s No. 00 team.
Over the weekend at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR confiscated Custer’s splitter, believing it to be in violation, and it’s evident where there was smoke, there was fire. On Wednesday, NASCAR announced a hefty penalty for Custer as he chases an Xfinity title.
“NEWS: The No. 00 team has been issued an L1-level penalty following an issue found with the splitter during pre-qualifying inspection at Michigan,” NASCAR revealed. “The penalty is a loss of 20 points and five NASCAR Playoff points to the driver and owner.”
Additionally, this isn’t the first time that Stewart-Haas Racing got in trouble this season. In the Cup Series ranks, Chase Briscoe was hit with a hard penalty after it was found that he had a counterfeit part on his Ford Mustang. Big no-no in NASCAR, especially in the new era. In fact, the $250,000 fine attached to the penalty was one of the biggest fines ever in NASCAR history.
Now, it’s going to be interesting to see if NASCAR shows off this piece like they have others in the Cup Series. More transparency has made it a lot more interesting each week when dealing with these issues.
Time will tell if Cole Custer can overcome this penalty, but it’s obviously a setback for one of the hottest drivers in the Xfinity Series over the last month.
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Moreover, with his success this season, Cole Custer should be in a group of four or five drivers that will be in contention for the championship. He is a former champion himself and honestly, struggled to break through to start the year.
After winning that first race of the season at Portland, it has been a different Custer.
His performances from Richmond to Atlanta this season produced two wins, six top-5s, and three top-10s. That’s a top-10 finish in all eleven races. Since then, he has struggled again. P22, P33, and P30 in the last three races are not ideal.
Right now, Custer is fourth in the standings and 84 points from the leader, Austin Hill. If he wants to put himself in the mix with Hill and John Hunter Nemechek for the championship, he has to start performing. The end of the season is right around the corner, and the playoffs will be tough.
All of that would make be difficult enough, but now Cole Custer is dealing with a possible points penalty late in the season. Tough break for the Stewart-Haas wheelman.
On3’s Jonathon Howard contributed to this article.
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