A NASCAR insider is predicting that Cole Custer will be the driver for the newly-formed Haas Factory Team. Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports went to X on Tuesday to answer a question from a fan who asked if there was any news on who would be the driver for the team created by Gene Haas.
“I would be mildly surprised if Cole Custer is not the driver of the Cup car for Haas Factory team,” Pockrass wrote. Custer makes the most sense since he has Cup Series experience with Stewart-Haas Racing. Additionally, Custer’s father, Joe Custer, will be the president of Haas Factory Team, which will begin competing in 2025.
In June, Cole Custer was asked about potentially being the driver for Haas Factory Team. “Yeah, I mean, I’d love to,” Custer said when asked on the USA broadcast. “You know, that’s what my career has been I guess is it’s always tied to – that relationship. I think you know what Gene Haas has done in this sport and you know it would be a dream come true to get to run that Cup car. I’ve tried to go back to the Xfinity Series to prove what I can do and try and make the most of it and you just kind of try and hope it all sorts itself out.”
Cole Custer is having a lot of success in the Xfinity Series
Custer, 26, has competed in 117 Cup Series races in five years and earned 12 top-10 finishes and one victory, which was the 2020 Quaker State 400. He currently competes in the Xfinity Series for Stewart-Haas Racing and won the championship in 2023. This year, Custer has not won a race, but he has earned 13 top-10 finishes and seven top-five finishes.
Haas Factory team was created after Haas and Tony Stewart announced that Stewart-Haas Racing was shutting its doors at the end of this season. “My commitment to motorsports hasn’t changed, just the scope of my involvement,”Haas said in a release.
“Operating a four-car Cup Series team has become too arduous but, at the same time, I still need a platform to promote Haas Automation and grow HaasTooling.com. Maintaining my presence in Cup allows Haas Automation to compete at NASCAR’s highest level, which is important to our customers and distributors. The Xfinity Series program provides a full weekend experience for our guests, and it delivers added depth and scale to our overall operation.”
On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this story.
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