Cole Custer, 2020 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, returns to the Cup Series full-time with the Haas Factory Team

July 20, 2024

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Cole Custer, the 2023 Xfinity Series champion and current leader in NASCAR’s second division, will return to the Cup Series full-time in 2025.

Custer will drive the No. 41 Ford fielded by the Haas Factory Team, a new organization formed by longtime NASCAR team owner Gene Haas. The team announced the move Saturday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the site of this weekend’s NASCAR race weekend.

Custer, 26, previously drove three full seasons in Cup (2020-2022) for Stewart-Haas Racing, a team co-owned by Haas, and was named Rookie of the Year in 2020 for winning a race and qualifying for the playoffs. After Custer struggled the following two years, the team demoted him to its Xfinity program.

In Custer’s first season back in Xfinity, he won three races and the series championship. He currently leads the Xfinity standings by 51 points over second-place Justin Allgaier.

“On his way to winning the Xfinity Series championship last year, Cole has created a real identity for himself on and off the track. He brings home trophies and runs clean races. He has earned a lot of respect from his peers and is a real character whose hard work resonates with our customers.

“The NASCAR Cup Series is tough, but Cole is coming back smarter and tougher. We are very happy to have him in our colors and in our race car.”

Haas, a California billionaire, first started a full-time Cup team that he owned outright in 2003 before partnering with Tony Stewart to form SHR in 2009. Since its inception, SHR has won two championships and 69 races, becoming one of NASCAR’s dominant organizations.

In May, SHR announced it would disband at the end of the current season. Haas later announced it had retained one of SHR’s four charters, the NASCAR equivalent of a franchise that guarantees certain financial rewards to owners, and formed the Haas Factory Team.

The new organization will form a technical alliance with RFK Racing and receive additional support from Ford Performance, it announced Saturday. The Haas Factory Team will also field two full-time Xfinity teams supported by Ford.

“The Haas Factory Team will essentially be a new race team next year, and we all need to make it a race-winning organization,” Custer said. “I want that opportunity and I’m ready for that challenge.”