Cole Custer finished eighth in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday.
The top-10 finish for Custer, his fifth of the year, added 29 points to his season total. Custer now ranks 19th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 381 points. A total of 16 drivers make the playoffs.
Custer started in 14th position. The second-year driver has one career victory, with two top-five finishes and four results inside the top 10.
The Ladera Ranch, California native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting eight spots higher than his career mark of 22 and completing the race 15 places ahead of his 22.8 career average finish.
Custer’s eighth-place finish was against 38 other drivers. The race endured 11 cautions and 52 caution laps. There were 22 lead changes.
Brad Keselowski secured the victory in the race, and Denny Hamlin followed in second. Martin Truex Jr placed third, Joey Logano took fourth, and Kevin Harvick closed out the top five.
After Hamlin won Stage 1, Keselowski grabbed control and won Stage 2 before taking the checkered flag.