Cole Custer, the driver of the #00 Haas Automation Ford, stands in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 2, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

This weekend marks the Cup debut for Xfinity Series championship contender Cole Custer, 20, who will drive the Rick Ware Motorsports No. 51 Ford on Sunday. He joins Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola in making his first Cup start at the famed 1.5-mile speedway.

“I’m excited to see what we can do,” said Custer, who drives the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford fulltime in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

“There’s definitely a lot of information you have to take in during the week to prepare yourself for everything that’s going to happen. But I think it’s definitely interesting to learn something new and try to make yourself better.

“It’s definitely going to be eye-opening to race with all those guys,” said Custer. “Every single guy out there can drive a race car at a high level so I think it’ll be eye-opening in the race to get a feel for what it’s like to race 30 guys that are in really fast cars and can take advantage of it.”

“I’m looking forward to working with the team and seeing what we can do.”