Custer lined in the third row for the final restart, but was actually in the perfect position to inherit the race lead. A failed attempt at a three-wide pass for the lead from Parker Kligerman, Custer jumped into the lead of the race.
Justin Allgaier closed the gap the final two laps and got all the way to Custer bumper, but was unable to snatch the victory away.
The win was the eleventh of Custer’s career, and locks him into the playoffs. Allgaier was second, Sam Mayer third, Josh Berry fourth, and Austin Hill fifth.
Myatt Snider, Sheldon Creed, Connor Mosack, Chandler Smith, and John-Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top-ten.
“Just trying not to make mistakes,” said Custer post-race. “I did the same exact thing. I saw him dive in there so deep and I did the same thing like two restarts ago. I’m just so happy. I’ve never won a road course race before. I’ve been so close, so many times. It’s just awesome to win this.
“I can’t thank Haas Automation, everybody at Stewart-Haas and the Xfinity program, and the Cup program. This is just a great day. J.T. (Jonathan Toney) just for coming in to crew chief. It’s awesome to get this trophy and get that out of the way. I’m pumped for the rest of the year. We got fast cars, and starting to put it all together.”
After the race, a brief scuffle ensued as Jeb Burton went to confront Chandler Smith over contact between the two drivers late in the race. They weren’t the only drivers upset after 77 laps of competition.
Stage 1
The race got underway with Sheldon Creed leading the field off into Turn 1. Behind him, Chandler Smith went for a spin and lost all of his track position.
Soon after, Sammy Smith made an unscheduled pit stop due to shifter issues.
Creed was constantly hounded by Nemechek, who finally made a move with six laps to go in the opening stage. But a caution for a stalled car would delay their battle.
During the caution period, Daniel Hemric saw his race end abruptly as fire erupted from under the hood of his Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
The battle for the stage win was a thrilling one with Nemechek fighting his way past Creed with just one lap to go. However, he ran wide in the final corner and Creed slipped back around him for the stage win.
They were followed by Allgaier, A. Hill, Berry, Jordan Taylor, Custer, Snider, Kligerman, and Riley Herbst.
During the stage break, Leland Honeyman Jr. wasn’t feeling well, so he climbed out of the car. Brad Perez replaced him behind the wheel of the No. 43 Alpha Prime entry.
Stage 2
At the beginning of the second stage, it was now Berry who went for a spin in Turn 1.
At the front, Allgaier got around Nemechek for second place, but was unable to take the lead from Creed.
There were single-car spins throughout the pack during the stage, but nothing caution-worthy.
On the final lap, it was Nemechek versus Creed once again, but it all went wrong in the final corner.
Nemechek got into Creed, who then spun. Custer took advantage of the chaos and pulled alongside Nemechek. In a photo finish, Custer stole the Stage 2 win. The margin of victory was just 0.012s.
Custer and Nemechek were followed by Allgaier, Kligerman, Taylor, Creed, Mayer, Herbst, A. Hill, and J. Burton.
Stage 3
Custer led the way at the start of the final stage, but only for a moment as he blew the entry into Turn 1 and lost several positions.
Allgaier took over the race lead, while Creed hunted Nemechek back down for revenge. Once there, he spun him out in the final corner. The move also cost Creed several seconds on track.
Allgaier skipped away from the chaos behind, and things were about to get worse for Nemechek. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sammy Smith ran into him as they raced down into Turn 1, costing both dearly. Nemechek took his frustrations out on his teammate, and doored him later in the lap.
After pitting for repairs, an irate Nemechek returned to the track just in front of Creed, and appeared to make the pass as difficult as possible for him.
Allgaier was cruising to Victory Lane it seemed, but a late caution for the car stationary car of Riley Herbst closed the field back up.
Allgaier survived the restart, but Creed was in hot pursuit. The caution flag flew once again with three laps to go.
It didn’t take long for a two-lap dash to the finish to become chaotic. Kligerman made it three-wide for the race lead, but blew the entry into Turn 1. Both Allgaier and Creed missed the corner as a result, clearing the way for Custer to take the race lead and ultimately, the victory.