Custer Battles Through Adversity on Challenging “Roval”
CONCORD, NC (October 5, 2025) – It was homecoming weekend for the Haas Factory Team (HFT), returning to Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Cup and Xfinity Series took on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn course with plenty at stake. It was an elimination weekend for HFT’s Xfinity Series playoff cars, and Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed both rose to the challenge, advancing to the next round. While they kept HFT’s championship hopes alive, Cole Custer carried the organization’s Cup Series banner high on Sunday, fighting to the finish of the 400-mile race.
Xfinity Series
00 Sheldon Creed
Riding a streak of consecutive top-five finishes, Sheldon Creed was looking to close out the Round of 12 strong and advance to the next round in the Xfinity Series Playoffs. Starting 13th in the Road Ranger Ford, he steadily climbed the leaderboard in the opening stage. Creed cracked the top 10 just before a mid-stage caution gave the team a chance to pit. He restarted 14th but was able to navigate traffic and charged back to finish the stage ninth, gaining important stage points.
In Stage Two, Creed built on that momentum with a strong restart from eighth, picking up multiple positions in the opening laps. After a brief caution, he lined up sixth with 10 laps to go and remained aggressive. Even after contact with Conor Kvapil resulted in minor quarter panel damage that impacted his turning ability, Creed maintained his composure and pace. He powered through the closing laps of the stage to finish fourth, again collecting stage points.
After pitting for adjustments between stages, Creed restarted 22nd to begin the final stage. He quickly mounted a charge, climbing all the way to eighth with 11 laps to go. By the closing laps, he was running as high as fifth. A late caution led to a strategic decision to pit for four fresh tires, dropping him to 20th for a green–white–checkered overtime finish. Creed used the final laps to pick off several more cars and crossed the line in 11th, capping off a strong day that propelled him to the next round of the playoffs.
“I thought we were going to sweep this first (playoff) round with top-fives,” said Creed. “I really didn’t want to see that last caution, but it was just your classic, stressful Roval with a lot of chaos, and we survived it. We worked really hard through this first round to get good finishes, and now we can focus on the next three.”
41 Sam Mayer
With victories in the previous two Charlotte road course races, Sam Mayer entered Saturday looking for a Roval three-peat. After starting seventh in the Audibel Ford, he wasted no time picking up positions, quickly moving into sixth on lap two and then passing Jessie Love for fifth. After a caution, Mayer pitted and restarted ninth, but a chaotic restart forced him off track, causing him to miss the chicane and draw a stop-and-go penalty with just two laps remaining in the stage. Despite the setback, he charged back through the field to finish 12th.
In Stage Two, Mayer began his comeback from 11th and steadily worked his way forward. Following a brief caution, he restarted in the same spot with 10 laps to go and began making moves. He passed Conor Mosack for eighth and then climbed to seventh, closely trailing Haas Factory Team teammate Sheldon Creed. By the end of the stage, Mayer had powered his way to a sixth-place finish.
The final stage brought a challenge. Mayer was hit with a penalty for a crew member over the wall too soon during pit stops, forcing him to restart 29th. Undeterred, he mounted an aggressive charge, slicing through the field to 15th with 11 laps remaining and maintaining an impressive pace. A late caution presented another chance, but after pitting from 12th, he restarted 18th and ultimately finished 19th. While the result didn’t reflect his car’s speed or his determination, Mayer was excited to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
“The biggest thing is we made it to the next round, and I’m really proud of the Haas Factory Team. They did a great job of sticking with me all day,” Mayer said. “Literally everything that you could have thrown at us got thrown at us, and we still managed to make it to the next round. So I’m really looking forward to the next round. We’re going to some tracks that Ford Racing has been really good at in the past, and hopefully we can get the Audibel Ford Mustang into the Championship Four.”
Cup Series
41 Cole Custer
Cole Custer showed determination early at Charlotte Motor Speedway as he and his team worked to dial in the HaasTooling.com Ford during Stage One. After starting 18th, Custer focused on finding the right balance as the team looked for ways to give the car more drive off the corners and long-run speed. A pair of pit stops during the stage allowed the crew to address those challenges. The final stop came with only two laps remaining in the stage, and while Custer crossed the line 27th, he was in position to restart much higher.
Stage One strategy turned into Stage Two opportunity. The team flipped the stage, allowing Custer to restart seventh. He fought to maintain track position throughout the run, but as the laps wore on, tire wear became a factor. The team made a strategic pit stop to put on qualifying scuffs and regain grip. Custer’s perseverance paid off as he worked back through the field to finish the stage 10th — a 17-position swing from the conclusion of Stage One.
After pitting between stages, Custer restarted the final — and longest — segment in 24th. To close out the day, he sought more overall grip to attack corners more aggressively. A pit stop on lap 67 allowed the team to make further adjustments, but a speeding penalty on pit road forced a pass-through that shuffled his track position. Custer remained focused to the end, holding steady in the closing laps to bring the car home in 22nd.
“Overall I felt we had a solid Haas Tooling Ford Mustang, just wished we didn’t speed there at the end,” said Custer. I felt like we had a solid car and could’ve had a solid finish. I just put us to far behind with the speeding penalty. We’ll move on to the next one and try to rebound.”
Up Next
Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, NV)
The Xfinity series – Saturday, October 11th at 7:30pm on the CW Network.
The NASCAR Cup Series – Sunday, October 12th at 5:30pm on USA Network
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.
