Cole Custer, the defending champion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will make his return to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025, the driver confirmed Saturday in a press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 26-year-old racer will partner with Haas Factory Team, a newly formed organization born from the ashes of Stewart-Haas Racing, which will shutter its NASCAR Cup Series program at the end of the current season.
Gene Haas will be the sole owner of the new entity, which confirmed in June that it had acquired a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing and would field a single entry in the NASCAR Cup Series starting in 2025, in addition to two entries in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
“Cole has represented Haas Automation for more than half his life and he’s delivered results every step of the way. He just wins, and he’s proven that repeatedly,” said Gene Haas, founder and president of Haas Automation and the owner of Haas Factory Team. “On his way to winning the Xfinity Series championship last year, Cole really carved out an identity for himself, on the track and off. He brings home trophies and he races people clean. He’s earned a lot of respect from his peers, and he’s a genuine personality whose hard work resonates with our customers. The NASCAR Cup Series is tough, but Cole is coming back wiser and tougher. We’re very happy to have him in our colors and in our racecar.”
Custer will be piloting the No. 41 in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025, the number that Stewart-Haas Racing has been using for its primarily Haas-sponsored entry since it debuted with Kurt Busch in 2014. The organization will remain a member of the Ford Performance family and will have a technical alliance with RFK Racing.
Haas Automation and HaasTooling.com will serve as the anchor partners for Custer and Haas Factory Team in 2025. The company, owned by Gene Haas, has been a major backer for the reigning Xfinity Series champion since making his ARCA Menards Series West debut in 2013.
“I’ve grown up with Haas Automation, and having their name on my firesuit is something I take a tremendous amount of pride in. I’m driven to win for Gene and everyone at Haas Automation because they’ve been such a big part of my career,” Custer said. “Haas Factory Team will essentially be a new race team next year, and it’s going to take all of us to build it into an organization that can go out and win races. I want this opportunity and I’m ready for this challenge.”
The start of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign will not be the first adventure into NASCAR’s top level for Custer, who spent three seasons competing full-time for Stewart-Haas Racing in the No. 41.
In 117 NASCAR Cup Series starts, Custer recorded a victory in his rookie season at Kentucky Speedway, while also collecting a pair of top-five results, 12 top-10s, and a pole position. After three seasons, Custer would be bumped from his seat in the No. 41, in favor of Ryan Preece.
Since being bumped to the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the start of last season, Custer has scored four victories, including the season-finale at Phoenix Raceway to clinch the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. In 52 starts, Custer has also amassed 22 top-five and 36 top-10 finishes.
In addition to his successes in the Xfinity Series, where he now has 14 victories, Custer is also the youngest driver to win a NASCAR National Series event, after winning a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2014, at the age of 16.
