Custer Finishes 23rd in Cup Series Race on Sunday
AUSTIN, TX (March 2, 2025) – Sam Mayer secured his best career finish and fourth-straight top-10 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), as he grabbed 3rd place in the Xfinity race on Saturday, while Sheldon Creed finished in 12th donning the Road Ranger sponsorship for the first time this season. On Sunday, Cole Custer finished 23rd in his first Cup race at COTA since the spring of 2022.
Xfinity Series
Mayer continued his string of strong runs at COTA as drove the No. 41 Audibel Ford Mustang to a podium finish, marking his ninth career top-5 finish at road courses. His teammate, Creed, fought to salvage a 12th-place finish for Haas Factory Team after a spin just eight laps into the race forced him to the back of the field.
Mayer started eighth and remained in the top five throughout a relatively calm first stage, as he finished in fourth to earn himself seven crucial stage points. Following the spin, Creed gained six positions on the track before short-pitting the stage for tires and fuel which resulted in a 30th place finish.
Due to the strategy call in stage one, Creed was able to restart at the front of the field to begin the second stage after staying out under caution, while Mayer was shuffled back to 17th. Both Haas Factory Team Ford Mustangs raced there way into the top-10 before once again short-pitting with three laps to go at the end of stage two.
Mayer gradually picked off drivers to advance his position into the top-five across a caution-free final 20 laps, passing Carson Kvapil and Austin Hill to secure a top-three finish. A speeding penalty on the final stop sent Creed to the back, but he was the biggest mover in the final stage as he crossed the line in 12th.
“I think we were in every position on the track at some point today,” Mayer said. “We were keeping pace with those guys, and that’s exactly what we said we wanted to do. We got spun and got hit, but we fought through the adversity and I could not be more proud of our guys here today.”
Creed sits in fourth place in the Xfinity points standings while Mayer is right behind him in fifth heading into Phoenix next Saturday.
Cup Series
Despite starting at the back of the field, Custer was able to grind and drive his way up to 23rd place to match the best finish of his career in the Cup Series at COTA.
After a caution-free first stage, the 41 team used strategy to grab a 13th-place finish in the second stage, his best in a stage this season. Custer then hit pit road for four tires and fuel at the stage end, and restarted in the 28th position with 50 laps remaining.
He overcame a commitment-line violation penalty that dropped him to the back with 34 laps to go, when a caution reset the field. Custer then restarted 31st with 13 laps to go following the final yellow of the day, and gained eight spots over the wanning laps to secure a 23rd-place result.
“It was a lot of ups and downs, a hard-fought day for sure. Our guys did a great job rebounding throughout the day,” Custer said. “We brought a fairly fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse but we had a few hiccups during the day. We will just keep building from here.”
Custer is 33rd in the NASCAR Cup Series points through three races this season, as he looks forward to Phoenix next weekend.
Up Next
Phoenix hosts the fourth race on the NASCAR Cup Series/Xfinity schedule next weekend. Race coverage for the Xfinity series is set for 5 p.m. ET on Saturday on the CW, and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1 for the Cup Series.
About Haas Factory Team
The Haas Factory Team is a NASCAR Cup and Xfinity program owned by Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. Beginning in 2025, the team will feature Cole Custer driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series, while Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer take on the Xfinity Series in the No. 00 and No. 41 Ford Mustangs, respectively. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Haas Factory Team reflects a commitment to performance and engineering excellence, carrying forward Gene Haas’s commitment to motorsports.
