Creed Leads Haas Factory Team with 10th-Place Finish at Darlington
Mayer Finishes 15th in Xfinity, Custer 22nd on Throwback Weekend
Xfinity Series
Sheldon Creed grabbed his fourth straight top-10 of the 2025 season at Darlington, scoring points in every stage and finishing 10th. His teammate Sam Mayer, whose paint scheme honored Kurt Busch’s 2017 Daytona 500 win, overcame an unscheduled stop after scrapping the wall in the opening stage to finish 14th on Saturday.
“It was a pretty hard-fought top-10 for us in our Road Ranger Ford Mustang today,” Creed said. “We struggled with balance for most of the race and took some swings at it, but ultimately just fought being tight all day long.”
Both Haas Factory Team (HFT) Ford Mustangs unloaded with speed at the track nicknamed ‘Too Tough To Tame’, as they enjoyed a strong qualifying effort with Mayer starting 5th and Creed behind him in 10th. It marked the third time this season that both HFT drivers fired off inside the top-10.
A caution on lap 21 cut the first stage in half, as Mayer battled with the leaders in fourth and Creed rounded out the top-10. A handful of drivers stayed out under the yellow to gain track position, but the fresher tires paid dividends and allowed Creed to grab a stage point.
With two laps to go in the opening stage, Mayer made contact with the wall of turn three that forced him to the back of the pack after spending extra time in his pit box under yellow. Conversely, Creed’s pit crew gained him five spots on pit road at the end of stage one as he restarted fifth to begin the second stage.
A quiet second stage ran green all the way through, as Creed once again rounded out the top-10 to grab his second stage point of the afternoon. Mayer was able to work his way through the field during the long green-flag run, and was able to rebound for a 17th-place finish.
“Overall, we were really solid, and had a lot of speed early in our Audibel Ford Mustang before our issue and had to fight adversity the rest of the way,” Mayer said. “We still managed to make a good day out of it and made the most of it, so I’m really proud of our guys for making that happen.”
Mayer, second, and Creed fourth, remained unchanged in the NASCAR Xfinity Series points standings heading into Bristol this Saturday.
Cup Series
At the Track Too Tough to Tame, track position is critical, and strategy used to get it is imperative. The No. 41 Haas Automotive team took used that knowledge to make immediate gains on Sunday. After starting 31st the team elected to take right side tires only on their first stop. The move yielded a 10-spot jump, allowing Cole Custer to finish stage one 21st.
During Stage two, Custer dealt with a tight condition but maintained competitive laps. However, like many drivers, he was caught a lap down after a green flag pitstop was followed shortly after by a caution. He was able to take the wave around and get back on the lead lap. He was 28th after Stage Two.
During stage three the team continued to work on the car, making it better. Over the final 60 laps, Custer gained six positions to bring home a 22nd place finish.
“Definitely a solid day. Our best mile and half race,” said Custer. “We learned a lot of stuff and took a step in the right direction. We still have to find some short run speed but I feel like we passed a lot of cars on the long run today, so it felt good to have that speed and hopefully we can go to Bristol now and have another solid run.”
Up Next:
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend for the ninth race on the NASCAR Cup Series/Xfinity schedule. Race coverage for the Xfinity series is set for 5 p.m. ET on Saturday on the CW, and Sunday at 3 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.
