FONTANA, Calif. – Revealed suddenly during the NASCAR on FOX pre-race show Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, Cole Custer is on standby for Auto Club 400 polesitter Austin Dillon.
Custer, who won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the two-mile oval and is a regular in that series for Stewart-Haas Racing, was fitted in the No. 3 Dow Chevrolet roughly an hour ahead of the green flag.
The 21-year-old from Ladera Ranch, Calif., will step in if Dillon – who has been fighting a stomach bug – is not well enough to take the green flag or is unable to go the distance in the 400-mile event.
Team owner Richard Childress first confirmed Dillon’s illness to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Sunday morning.
“We have a really fast race car; we just have to get it handling well throughout the race. We made a lot of changes on Saturday,” Childress told Claire B. Lang. “(Austin) is still in the infield care center. We just hope he can get out of there and get to the driver’s meeting so he can start up front.
“His spotter (Andy Houston) is sick, too; I guess there’s some type of bug going around,” Childress added. “The car is really quick, though. Hopefully we can go up there and get ‘em in the race.”
Custer made three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts last season for Rick Ware Racing, in partnership with Stewart-Haas, but has never made laps in a Cup Series car at Auto Club Speedway.
As such, he’s not sure what to expect should he be called into action on Sunday afternoon.
“I just got a (phone) call this morning; I guess Austin is a little bit sick,” Custer noted. “We’re just trying to put a backup plan together in case things take a turn. Really we’ll just see what happens and go from there. He’s a pretty tough guy and I believe he’ll race this thing, but I appreciate the RCR guys for giving me a call and asking me to be ready if I’m needed.
“It seems like these cars are carrying a lot of throttle, so I think that will be a help to me as far as getting up to speed,” Custer added. “This is going to be interesting. I’ve never run Fontana in a Cup car, so I’m looking forward to it if I do have to get into it here and I’ll just do the best I can.”
Dillon spoke to FOX Sports during NASCAR Race Day and said that he hopes to stay in the seat and convert his illness into a victory, much like Brad Keselowski did three weeks ago at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
“I’ve just got a bit of a stomach issue. It’s unfortunate,” Dillon said. “I want to get after it, though. I hope it’s a good omen. Brad won like this, so hopefully once the green flag drops, we can do the same.”