Cole Custer outduels Justin Allgaier for first Xfinity Series win of 2024

Cole Custer finally closed the deal on Saturday, winning his first race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season at Pocono Raceway.

The defending Xfinity Series champion broke an 18-race winless streak dating back to the 2023 championship race. The win also marks the first for Ford in the Xfinity Series in 2024.

After taking the lead away from Justin Allgaier with nine laps to go, a caution for Shane van Gisbergen re-racked the field for one final restart with four laps to go. While Allgaier got a great push from William Byron into turn one, it was Custer who got the run off the corner, building up enough momentum for the No. 00 car to clear Allgaier.

With Allgaier under pressure from Byron for second, Custer easily pulled away for a win that officially locks himself into the playoffs.

Allgaier and Byron finished second and third, respectively, with polesitter Sheldon Creed finishing fourth and Taylor Gray rounding out the top five.

AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with Parker Kligerman, Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer rounding out the top-10 finishers.

One name that won't be seen near the top of the results sheet is van Gisbergen, who ran as high as 10th before contact with Mayer sent the Chicago winner spinning. With little time to gain back spots on the ensuing restart, van Gisbergen was relegated to a 31st-place finish.

Other notable finishers from Saturday's race include Riley Herbst in 11th, Brandon Jones in 13th, Chandler Smith in 15th, Corey Heim in 16th and Josh Berry in 27th.

After Pocono, Custer maintains his regular-season point lead, leading Allgaier by 51 points. Custer's win makes him the seventh driver to clinch a playoff spot via a win so far in 2024. Five playoff spots still remain open with seven regular-season races remaining.

Smith currently holds the final playoff spot by 22 points over Ryan Sieg.

The Xfinity Series' next race will be next Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the series will take on the IMS oval for the first time since 2019. Kyle Busch won at the track the last time the Xfinity Series raced there.

The Pennzoil 250 will go green shortly after 3:30 p.m. ET on July 20, with coverage provided on USA Network, IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.