Creed and Mayer Finish Just Outside Top 10 in NXS at Charlotte
Custer Brings Home 21st in Coke 600 on Sunday
Xfinity Series
00 Sheldon Creed
Sheldon Creed turned in a determined performance in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS). After starting eighth, his best career qualifying effort at the 1.5-mile track, he established the No. 00 Pit Boss Ford as one of the most consistent cars in the field. He made early progress, working his way up to sixth by lap 10 and cracking the top 5 by lap 20. Throughout the segment he showed solid speed and managed shifting balance in the car to finish 11th in Stage One.
Beginning Stage Two, Creed continued moving forward. On lap 62, he executed a pair of aggressive passes on Matt DiBenedetto and Sammy Smith, and climbed back into the top 10 while running some of his fastest laps of the race. Aided by mid-segment adjustments, he grabbed stage points with a ninth-place finish in the segment.
Creed faced adversity on lap 120 when he slapped the wall in Turns 1 and 2. With a flat right-front tire he was forced to make a green-flag stop that put him a lap down. The team stayed patient, banking on a caution and got the break they needed on lap 149 to rejoin the lead lap. After a flurry of late-race yellows and restarts shuffled the field, Creed powered up to second with 17 laps to go. Because of the unscheduled stop earlier, Creed was forced to run to the end on worn tires. As the race went into multiple overtime finished, tire wear ultimately caught up with him and Creed crossed the line in 10th, a hard-earned result and his second career top-10 at Charlotte.
“I feel like we rebounded really quickly,” said Creed, referring to the mid race flat tire set back. “We had a shot, just too many cautions there at the end and too many guys with fresh tires.”
41 Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer turned in an impressive effort in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, earning stage points in each of the race’s first two segments. Starting 11th in the Audibel Ford, Mayer wasted no time moving forward. He climbed to fifth by lap 10 and was running fourth by lap 20. He maintained that pace through the end of Stage One, earning solid stage points with a fourth-place segment finish.
A shuffle on pit road saw him restart seventh, entering Stage Two. Mayer though, quickly regrouped, working his way back into the top five by lap 71, and picked up more stage points with a sixth-place finish in Stage Two.
Before beginning Stage Three, Mayer gaining two spots on pit road – one earned by his crew’s fast service and another thanks to a penalty to eventual race winner, William Byron. Mayer restarted fourth and moved up to third by lap 130, positioning himself as a contender. But the race took a tough turn when he had brushed the wall on lap 158, sustaining right-side damage and a flat tire. Mayer battled back, charging his way into the top five at one point in the closing laps. A rash of cautions, however, created a chaotic and extended finish. After multiple overtimes Mayer crossed the line with a solid 11th place result.
“Overall, our Audibel Ford was really good. It had a lot of pace. We could hang out and be up there in the top five all day,” said Mayer. “We made the most of the day. That’s why stage points are so important. We didn’t get a top 10 out of it but top five-ish points.”
Cup Series
41 Cole Custer
Cole Custer rolled off 29th in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at CMS, piloting his Texas A&M Ford Mustang in honor of Captain Ronald Forrester. He made early gains, moving up three spots in the first 10 laps before slipping back to 28th ahead of a caution on lap 41. The yellow flag gave the No. 41 team a chance to shine on pit road, gaining Custer five positions with a fast stop.
Despite the strong pit work, Custer struggled with a loose-handling car and fell back through the field, finishing the opening stage in 32nd. Things nearly took a turn for the worse on lap 111 when he was involved in an incident coming off turn four, but he escaped without damage and kept his car clean. Restarting 34th, Custer managed to work his way forward, gaining four spots by the end of Stage Two.
As the field paused for a moment of silence on pit road, Custer sat in 30th, one lap down. Undeterred, he stayed focused in the third stage, gradually picking up positions and climbing as high as 25th during the run. By the end of Stage Three, he settled into 29th, continuing to fight through tough handling and slick track conditions in NASCAR’s longest race of the season.
Custer began the final stage in 27th and quickly gained two spots by lap 330. Crew chief Aaron Kramer opted for a long-run strategy, keeping the No. 41 on track while others pitted. This allowed Custer to climb as high as 21st before making his green-flag stop on lap 359, after which he cycled back to 27th. With fresher tires in the final 40 laps, he steadily regained positions and crossed the line in 21st, showing solid execution of the team’s strategy.
“We fought hard and executed well tonight, but we definitely have some gains that we have to make on our 1.5-mile tracks,” Custer said. “I’m looking forward to going to Nashville and we’ll see what we can do there.”
Up Next:
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Nashville Superspeedway next weekend for the 14th points race on the NASCAR Cup Series/Xfinity schedule. Race coverage for the Xfinity series is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on the CW, and Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on Prime 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.
