STEWART-HAAS RACING

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Focused Health 250
Date: Sept. 7, 2024
Event: Focused Health 250 (Round 24 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Format: 163 laps, broken into three stages (40 laps/40 laps/83 laps)

Race Winner: Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:
● Riley Herbst (Started 9th / Finished 26th, Running, completed 158 of 163 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 3rd / Finished 31st, Accident, completed 144 of 163 laps)

SHR Points:
● Cole Custer (2nd with 832 points, 34 out of first)
● Riley Herbst (7th with 693 points, 173 out of first)

SHR Notes:
● Herbst finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points and fourth in Stage 2 to earn seven more bonus points.
● Custer finished eighth in Stage 1 to earn three bonus points and third in Stage 2 to earn eight more bonus points.
● Custer led two times for 27 laps increasing his laps led total to 29 at Atlanta.

Race Notes:
● Austin Hill won the Focused Health 250 to score his ninth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his third of the season and his fourth at Atlanta. His margin over second-place Parker Kligerman was .340 of a second.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 36 laps.
● Twenty-three of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Justin Allgaier remains the championship leader after Atlanta with a 34-point advantage over second-place Custer.

Sound Bites:
“I thought we were okay. Our car wasn’t dominant, but I thought it was fast enough for a top five at least. It just felt good to get points again with my mistake from last week, but I just got ran over on that caution. Somebody didn’t listen to their spotter and made the most of it.” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“I haven’t heard was Justin (Allgaier) said, but I think he just blew a right-front. Looking at the replay, I just tried to come down to side draft him and we just barely touched. I mean, it didn’t have any smoke or anything and it looked like it blew its right-front, I guess. I’ve never seen that light of contact blow a tire, but it’s just part of the racing. You’re trying to side draft as hard as you can. If you don’t, he’s gonna clear you the next corner, so it’s just tough racing and close racing and just part of it.” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Autodesk/Haas Automation Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Mission 200 at the Glen on Saturday, Sept. 14 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.