Creed Earns Third-Place Finish at Chicago Street Course; Mayer 8th
Custer Involved in Early-Lap Incident on Sunday
Xfinity Series
Sheldon Creed turned in a strong performance at the Chicago Street Course on Saturday, earning his best road course finish of the season. He led nine laps, won a stage—his first road course stage win of the year—and ultimately brought home a third-place result, showing both speed and control on the challenging layout. His teammate, Sam Mayer, had a solid day as well, navigating through traffic and restarts to finish eighth at Chicago, his 11th top-10 result of the season.
“We had a solid day today and took home a third-place finish and got a stage win here at Chicago,” Creed said. “Overall, I’m just really excited to have a great day with our Road Ranger Ford Mustang and we’ll keep this momentum rolling into the summer.”
Creed got off to a strong start, quickly challenging Shane van Gisbergen for the lead after starting fourth. The two traded spots early, while Mayer ran inside the top five over the opening 15 laps. The stage ended under caution, with Creed taking second and earning nine stage points, while Mayer settled for fourth and seven points.
Despite restarting deep in traffic at the beginning of Stage Two, Creed quickly charged through the field, showcasing the speed of his No. 00 car. By lap 22, he had worked his way back into the top five, then climbed to third just before a caution on lap 25. The yellow set up a two-lap sprint to end the stage, and Creed seized the opportunity—making a decisive move in turn six to pass Jesse Love and take the stage win. Mayer, meanwhile, finished just outside the top ten in 11th.
The No. 00 car led the field to the green at the start of the final stage and quickly entered a fierce battle with Connor Zilisch. The two traded the lead multiple times before Zilisch pulled ahead for good with 13 laps to go. Meanwhile, Mayer started the stage in eighth and showed steady pace, holding his position through traffic and pressure from behind. A late caution with two laps remaining set up a dramatic sprint to the finish, but in the end, Creed claimed third while Mayer held on to finish eighth after a consistent run in the closing laps.
“A couple of missed opportunities today, but I think we made the best of it and got a top-10 finish,” Mayer said. “Really proud of our guys for battling today to make our Audibel Ford Mustang better, and we’ll look forward to another road course next week.”
Cup Series
Cole Custer and the No. 41 team spent the majority of the afternoon overcoming early adversity after the car sustained left-front damage in a multi-car incident that brought out a caution on lap three. Despite the setback, the HFT crew showed resilience and determination, working through significant repairs to secure a valuable point in the regular-season standings.
After starting 23rd, Custer was caught in the early incident and quickly reported a possible issue with the left-front suspension. He brought the car to pit road for four tires and fuel while the crew evaluated the damage, and was able to stay on the lead lap through the end of Stage One.
At the start of Stage Two, crew chief Aaron Kramer directed Custer to the Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) work area, where the team spent 39 laps replacing the upper control arm on the No. 41 Haas/Andy’s Ford Mustang. Their persistence paid off as Custer returned to the track on lap 63 and completed enough laps to overtake Josh Berry, finishing 33rd and earning a key point in the standings.
“Overall, it was a really hard fought day, and our guys worked extremely hard to get us back out there,” Custer said. “We definitely got our car better throughout the weekend, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do at Sonoma.”
Up Next
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Sonoma Raceway next weekend. Race coverage for the Xfinity series is set for 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on the CW, and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on TNT 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.
