Custer Finishes 29th in Cup Race at BMS
Xfinity Series
A strong lap from Sam Mayer put him on the third row to start the 300-lap race at ‘The Last Great Colosseum’, his third straight top-10 qualifying effort this season. His teammate, Sheldon Creed, started 21st and began the race eligible for the Dash 4 Cash Bonus—needing to finish ahead of the other three drivers (Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, and Brennan Poole) to win it.
Mayer maneuvered his way up to 4th over the first 70 laps, utilizing the gripped bottom line to advance his position. With just eight laps remaining in the opening stage, Creed was spun off turn four before coming to a stop and collecting Brennan Poole, ending his day early for just the second time this season.
“It’s unfortunate for our Friends of Jaclyn Ford Mustang, and I’m bummed for all of our guys to be taken out in stage one like that,” Creed said. “I’m happy to be okay and we’ll fight on next week.”
The No. 41 team elected to stay out as the field went back to green with only four laps to go in the segment. It paid off for Mayer, as he secured his first stage win of the season and the first for Haas Factory Team in 2025 to earn a playoff point and 10 regular-season points.
After coming down pit road during the stage break, Mayer restarted 13th and worked his way into the top-10 by lap 140. He settled for a 10th-place result at the end of the second stage, earning another point towards the regular-season points standings.
Track position proved hard to come by, as the No. 41 Audibel Ford Mustang restarted the final stage in 11th. A caution with 81 laps to go reset the field, and Mayer’s team was able to pick up three spots on pit road. He fell outside the top-10, but took home a strong 11th-place result, while Creed finished 37th.
“We were really good today in Bristol, and there is lots to be proud of. We got decent points and came out with no marks on the car,” Mayer said. “We definitely want to be better in the fall when we come back here, but I’m really proud of these guys for putting together a good car for me.”
Mayer remains in second place in the Xfinity points standings while Creed slipped to eighth heading into Rockingham next Saturday.
Cup Series
After winning here in the Xfinity Series last season, Cole Custer qualified in the 33rd position for the 500-lap race. He entered with some momentum after finishing 8th in his last Cup race at Bristol in the fall of 2022.
Custer was able to climb as high as 29th within the first 15 laps, before the field migrated to the bottom line and passing became increasingly more difficult. The first stage ran entirely caution free, and he was put a lap down halfway through the segment before ending the stage in 36th.
From there, it was a constant battle at ‘The World’s Fastest Half Mile’, as the No. 41 team battled with tightness in the middle of the corner. He finished 34th in the second stage, before the final 250 laps ran green and Custer was able to grind his way to a 29th-place finish.
Up Next:
The NASCAR Cup Series has next weekend off for the Easter holiday, while race coverage for the Xfinity series from Rockingham Speedway on April 19th is set for 4 p.m. ET on Saturday on the CW.
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.
