Creed Claims Third Straight Top-10 as Weather Cuts Dover Short; Mayer 12th
Custer Finishes 29th in Cup Series on Sunday
Xfinity Series
Sheldon Creed continued his strong stretch with a third consecutive top-10 finish in Saturday’s rain-shortened NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Dover Motor Speedway. The race was halted at lap 134 of 200 due to severe weather, with Creed scored in eighth and teammate Sam Mayer in 12th at the time of the red flag.
“I thought we brought a lot of speed in our Friends of Jaclyn Ford today, and came home with a decent enough finish out of it,” Creed said. “Obviously bummed we couldn’t finish the race, but we have a lot to build on for next week in Indy.”
After making significant adjustments in practice, Haas Factory Team (HFT) showed solid pace in qualifying. Creed lined up 11th, with Mayer close behind in 13th. However, rain between qualifying and the race washed away the rubber on the track, creating slick conditions and forcing drivers to adapt quickly.
Creed charged into the top 10 within the first 20 laps, while Mayer slipped back to 17th early on. Creed earned one stage point by finishing 10th in Stage 1, continuing a streak of collecting stage points for the No. 00 team. Mayer, dealing with a loose car and limited grip, finished 20th in the stage.
After both cars pitted for four tires and fuel, Creed restarted ninth and held his ground through Stage Two, finishing eighth and adding three more stage points. Mayer struggled in dirty air and again came across the line in 20th for the second segment.
The final stage began with just over 100 laps to go and weather looming. Both drivers responded with urgency, picking up positions quickly. Creed ran solidly in eighth when the caution came out for weather, while Mayer worked his way up to 12th before the race was ultimately called due to worsening conditions.
“Overall, we had a really solid a day and I feel like we got better and better throughout the race,” Mayer said. “I’m really proud of my team for all their work and effort that they put in, and the wins are coming soon.”
Mayer sits eighth in the Xfinity points standings with 652 total points on the season, behind the seven winners, while Creed is in 10th place with 551 points.
Cup Series
After both practice and qualifying were rained out on Saturday, the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway faced additional weather challenges on Sunday, including a red flag with just 14 laps remaining. Despite the disruptions, Cole Custer and the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang battled through the adversity to bring home a 29th-place finish.
Custer took the green flag from the 29th position but was shuffled back to 33rd in the opening laps. A competition caution on lap 35 allowed the team to make their first adjustments, taking four tires and fuel. However, Custer reported a loose-handling condition in the No. 41 Ford and struggled with overall grip. He lost a lap to the leaders on lap 83 and ended Stage One in 30th.
When Stage Two began, Custer restarted 31st, but the entire 130-lap segment ran caution-free. As the long green-flag run unfolded, he fell a second lap down by lap 173. The No. 41 team opted to split the stage with a green-flag pit stop on lap 188, taking four tires and fuel. Custer managed to maintain his track position through the cycle and crossed the line 31st at the conclusion of Stage Two.
The final stage was interrupted by two separate cautions for rain before the race was ultimately red-flagged on lap 386. After a delay, the field returned to green-flag conditions with just 14 laps remaining. Custer held steady through the sprint to the finish crossing the line in 29th-place, wrapping up a challenging, weather-impacted day for HFT at the “Monster Mile”.
“Not the day we wanted here at Dover, but I’m proud of the guys for all the work they put in throughout the week,” Custer said. “We’ve run well on the intermediate package over the last couple of weeks, and we’re looking forward to the challenge Indianapolis will bring next weekend.”
Up Next
NASCAR heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend, with race coverage for the Xfinity series set for 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on the CW, and Sunday at 2 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.
