Cole Custer believes in himself and his No. 41 Ford team to right the ship. (Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
While Cole Custer may not call Madison, Illinois, his hometown, perhaps a return to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway may feel like a homecoming.
After all, it’s the site of his most recent NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win on June 13, 2015. As one of the few drivers who’s recently competed at the 1.25-mile egg shaped speedway, his Truck victory has to be a nice shot in the arm.
“It gives you a little bit of confidence,” Custer said in a Zoom conference. “I haven’t run the track since 2016, I think, so I’ve never run on the repave so that’s gonna be interesting, but I kind of know the idea of the track.
“One end is extremely tight with the feel at that end and then you have the other end that’s really similar to maybe New Hampshire or Phoenix one and two, where it’s really wide and sweeping, so just kind of have to get used to the repave. I think I have an idea of the racetrack from using the Ford simulator, but the repave is definitely gonna be different than what I was used to.”
Consider that this distinct venue was most recently repaved in 2017. Suddenly, it’s somewhat of an equalizer for drivers who’ve not competed at Gateway versus those with experience like Custer.
Still, one of the bigger unknowns ahead of Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway is the Next Gen car. Specifically, drivers like Custer believe that gear shifting may be a factor as evident at places like Phoenix or Martinsville.
Custer continually looks for positives in a tough season. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finsih)
“I think, when you look at it, if you go in there and wash up, make a mistake, you can always grab a gear and the car is gonna accelerate really good off the corner,” Custer observed. “It’s gonna be harder for that guy behind you to pass, but it’s just part of these cars.
“We have five gears now and I don’t think you’re gonna escape that at Gateway either because the ends are so much different. You’re always gonna be shifting. I think at Martinsville, we can figure out something to where we can make it so that we don’t have to shift. But Gateway, it will always be hard to make that happen.”
Similarly, Custer, when considering the distinct speedways like Gateway, realized how shifting will become a norm, despite it being a new caveat at a place like Darlington, a traditionally fourth gear, around the track experience.
Custer hopes he’s not like a George Thorogood song, as in being a gear jammer. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“I don’t want to speak for everybody, but for me I think at places like Gateway, Darlington, Pocono, it’s gonna be really hard to make it to where we don’t shift at those places,” he shared. ” I mean, it’s probably gonna be a thing that’s part of the racing now, but I think when you look at Martinsville and the traditional tracks that we don’t shift at, it doesn’t help the racing to have the shifting.
“It makes it a little bit more busy as a driver at times and stuff like that, but I don’t think it helps the racing when you can kind of grab a gear and accelerate off the corner. Even if you make a little mistake you can kind of make up for it with the shift, so I think it’s something where going to the traditional tracks and not shifting would probably be better.”
Striving towards better results remains one of Custer’s goal for his No. 41 Haas Automation/Wow Wow Classic Waffles Ford Mustang team. Ranked 27th and with a best finish of 11th at Fontana, the Ladera Ranch, California native takes the good with the bad, even if it’s been a struggle at times.
“You just have to keep grinding,” he said. “It’s a really long year and you just have to stay at it and keep working with your team and get your cars better and go week by week. But I think the biggest thing from last week is that we can take a lot of positives and a lot of momentum from that.
“I mean, being able to run up there in the top five and have a shot to win the race at the end, that makes you pumped to go to the track the next week. I think we’re going in the right direction, it’s just a matter of cleaning some things up and having some good luck.”
As Custer and his No. 41 team look toward stronger results and their second Playoff berth, it can be easy to forget that he’s only 24 years old. With this in mind, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year considered some advice he’d have shared with his younger self about his racing career thus far.
No doubt, Custer and his No. 41 team are resilient and quick on the track. (Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
“I think the biggest thing is just asking questions and figuring out what is good for you,” Custer offered. “I think what works for everybody doesn’t work for you, so you have to kind of figure out your style inside the car and outside the car.
“You have to figure out what works for you and I think at this level that really becomes apparent that you have to focus on yourself and figure out what’s gonna work for you inside and outside the car.”
