Joe Graf Jr. taking family leave, Cole Custer fills in for Pocono

Joe Graf Jr. will skip a NASCAR Xfinity Series race for the first time since Indianapolis in August 2021 as he backs out of Saturday’s Pocono Raceway event for family reasons. In his place, SS-Green Light Racing has entrusted the #07 Ford Mustang to Cole Custer.

The partnership between Custer and SSGLR began in 2021 as the latter forged a technical alliance with Custer’s Cup Series team Stewart-Haas Racing. Custer, who finished runner-up in the 2018 and 2019 Xfinity championships, has shown out in his sporadic starts for SSGLR with three top tens in four starts and dominating the Fontana race in February for owner Bobby Dotter‘s maiden NASCAR victory.

Custer won the 2019 Pocono Xfinity race from the pole and scored top tens in all three attempts at the Pennsylvania track.

“SS-Green Light Racing with Jeff Lefcourt mainstay driver Joe Graf Jr. will temporarily step out of the #07 Ford Mustang for a private family matter beginning with this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway,” reads a team statement. “While his absence should be brief, the SS-Green Light Racing with Jeff Lefcourt team is extremely appreciative and thankful for our alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing that will allow Cole Custer to compete in this weekend’s Pocono Mountains 225.”

Graf, now in his third Xfinity season with the team, is twenty-fifth in points with a best race finish of eighth at Talladega. With Custer driving the #07 at Fontana, he was bumped to SSGLR’s #08 and failed to qualify but found a seat for the race in RSS Racing‘s #38, which he piloted to a fifteenth. The run was his first of three top twenties in 2022 to date, followed by the Talladega finish and a twelfth in Saturday’s New Hampshire race. He also drove the #5 for B.J. McLeod Motorsports but retired for brake failure.

While Graf and Custer have been the #07’s only drivers in 2022, the #08 has been filled by multiple names. David Starr is doing the bulk of the calendar but has occasionally stepped aside with those like Andy Lally, B.J. McLeod, Spencer Pumpelly, and SHR driver Chase Briscoe making starts. Starr is entered for Pocono.