AVONDALE, Ariz. — Cole Custer lost his Cup Series ride after last season, a humbling demotion after three years at the sport’s top level.
But the 25-year-old appears firmly on the comeback trail after holding off Justin Allgaier during a two-lap overtime shootout to win his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway.
It was an exhilarating finish, with Custer, Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek three-wide on the next-to-last lap, with Allgaier’s JR Motorsports Chevrolet finding some room in-between the other two cars. But Custer — who dove to the inside on the dogleg oval mile after starting on the outside during the restart — pulled away while Allgaier and Nemechek banged doors on the outside.
It was a sweet moment for Custer, who had a Cup ride with Stewart-Haas Racing the past three seasons before being demoted this year to the Xfinity Series. It’s also a bright spot in a tough season for Stewart-Haas, which hasn’t won a race in the Cup Series this season.
“Being a part of a new group, building it through the year, it’s one of the most proud things I’ve been a part of,” Custer said. “I feel like they leaned on me to be a leader. It’s a very proud moment.”
The four championship drivers were in the top four spots for the final restart, which was brought on after Anthony Alfredo spun out with five laps remaining.
Custer, the Xfinity Series runner-up in both 2018 and 2019, went low as Nemechek stayed high, with Allgaier making a brief run up the middle that brought the crowd to its feet.
Allgaier finished third, Sam Mayer ended up fifth, and Nemechek fell to 28th after hitting the wall on the final lap. It was the sixth time Allgaier has made the championship round, but he still hasn’t won.
“The restart was fantastic. We did everything right,” Allgaier said. “I’m going to replay this one in my head a couple times.”
Allgaier put himself in a tough situation on Saturday’s second lap when he tried to go low on the apron, bumping against Nemechek before spinning out and falling back to 36th. But the 37-year-old made up ground in a hurry, moving all the way up to third after his pit stop following the first stage.
“I gave 100%,” Allgaier said. “It just didn’t work out for us.”
Allgaier won four times this season, earning a spot in the championship round by beating Sheldon Creed in a door-to-door finish to win at Martinsville last week.
Nemechek, the son of former Xfinity Series champion Joe Nemechek, had an ill-fated Cup Series debut for Front Row Motorsports in 2020. He was in a tough situation during NASCAR’s COVID-19 “bubble” season, his only seat time coming during races because there was no practice or qualifying.
He will be back in the Cup Series next year with Legacy Motor Club, which is owned by Jimmie Johnson.
“We didn’t go down without a fight, that’s for sure,” Nemechek said.
The 20-year-old Mayer has had a quick rise in NASCAR, starting with the Trucks Series in 2019. He won in Charlotte and Homestead to make the playoffs for the second straight year. Even after falling short of a championship, he was pleased with the team’s effort.
Mayer’s fifth-place finish was his best in Phoenix.
“That’s probably the most fun I’ve had in a race car in a long time,” Mayer said.
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jake Fraley was activated from the 10-day injured list on Saturday.
He had injured his right shoulder while trying to make a diving catch June 23 against the New York Yankees.
An MRI revealed a partially torn labrum that will eventually require surgery. Fraley received a cortisone shot and will try to play through it for the rest of the season.