Cole Custer will return to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time next season as the Haas Factory Team entry driver.
Custer, 26, will drive the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse with sponsorship from Haas Automation and HaasTooling.com. The team will have a technical alliance with RFK Racing and receive additional support from Ford Performance.
“Cole has represented Haas Automation for more than half his life and he’s delivered results every step of the way,” team owner Gene Haas said. “He just wins and he’s proven that repeatedly. 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 race car.”
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Haas Factory Team will be a single-car entry from Haas. It will keep Haas in the sport with a charter after he and Tony Stewart decided to shutter Stewart-Haas Racing, which fields four cars in the Cup Series and two in the Xfinity Series. Haas will also keep the Xfinity Series program.
Custer ran three seasons in the Cup Series with Stewart-Haas before being moved to the Xfinity Series program. He is the reigning series champion with four victories since the start of 2023 and currently leads the points with seven races left in the regular season.
Last year, Custer made six starts in the Cup Series for Rick Ware. In 117 career starts, Custer has 12 top-10 finishes and one victory. The victory at Kentucky Speedway in his rookie season, 2020, helped Custer clinch Rookie of the Year honors.
Haas Automation and HaasTooling.com are familiar brands to Custer. Haas has sponsored Custer for over a decade in his climb through the racing ladder from NASCAR K&N to ARCA and into all three national series.
“I’ve grown up with Haas Automation, and having their name on my firesuit is something I take a tremendous amount of pride in,” Custer said. “I’m driven to win for Gene and everyone at Haas Automation because they’ve been such a big part of my career. 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.”