In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500. Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020.
16th Place – Cole Custer – 2202 pts
By the Numbers: +28 positions – On July 12, 2020, Cole Custer started the race in 29th position. 267 laps later, he shocked the NASCAR world by crossing the finish line 0.271 seconds ahead of Martin Truex Jr. to take his first ever victory in his first full-time season in the Cup Series. It was also the first time a rookie had won a Cup Series race since Chris Buescher won at Pocono in 2016. 39th Place – Unfortunately, Cole Custer’s winning ways didn’t last long. The week after his best finish of the season, he posted his worst finish – 39th place – at the first Texas race. An accident took him out 219 laps into a 334 lap race, finishing only ahead of Ryan Preece. 5 Laps Led – In 2020, Cole Custer only led the field for 5 laps, and they all came at the Kentucky race where he won. He didn’t lead the field for the final 5 laps, though, as he actually restarted in 5th position on the final restart with 2 to go. 3 Races – Cole Custer’s teammates in 2020 were Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, and Kevin Harvick, with the latter being the cream of the crop by a long shot. However, in 3 races in 2020, Custer was the best of the 4 drivers. Other than the obvious win at Kentucky, he also finished 9th at the Charlotte Roval and 14th at the 2nd Texas Race, beating out each of his teammates in the process. 13th Best Win % – Having run an entire season in 2020, plus 3 one-off races the year before for Rick Ware Racing, that puts Cole Custer’s winning percentage at 2.56%, or 1 win in 39 tries. While it is a small sample size, that is good enough for 13th best of active drivers (12th if you take the retired Jimmie Johnson out of the equation now). Cole Custer will look to improve on his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2021 as he returns to the Stewart-Haas No. 41 Ford. Coming up in two days – Aric Almirola Follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR