Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed Display Speed in Xfinity Race
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (August 23, 2025) – Cole Custer nearly pulled off the victory Saturday night, threatening for the win in the closing lap of Coke Zero Sugar 400. Custer’s top-five finish capped off a weekend which also saw the Haas Factory Team post strong Xfinity Series performance, with a top-five finish from Sam Mayer and a strong outing by Sheldon Creed.
Cup Series
41 Cole Custer
Cole Custer led seven laps Saturday night enroute to his best career Daytona finish. Custer started 29th in the Haas/Bonanza Ford and immediately, climbed to 22nd within the opening laps. After cycling through a string of early cautions, including a red flag period, Custer pitted on lap 31 and rejoined 23rd with just a few laps left in the opening segment. He ultimately finished Stage One in 25th.
Restarting 11th to begin Stage Two after a pit stop between segments, Custer briefly slipped back in the draft but found momentum on the bottom line while working with Chase Elliott. The drafting help allowed him to surge forward, and by lap 81 he was out front, leading a lap in the process. He reported that the balance was strong, especially when being pushed in the draft, but a caution and subsequent pit stop on lap 85 shuffled him back and closed out the stage in 21st.
Custer’s strongest run came in the final stage. After pitting for fuel at lap 111, he restarted 14th and quickly advanced into the top 10 before settling back in the draft. With 12 laps to go, he stayed out during a caution and restarted 11th, keeping himself in position for a late push. Custer fought his way toward the front in the closing laps and made his move as the field roared to the checkered flag. Leading at points during the final lap he battled for the win before bringing home an impressive fourth-place finish.
“It was an awesome race. Definitely awesome to get a result that shows the hard work of our team and everything they put in this year,” said Custer. “I’m definitely going to look back and see the different things I could’ve done to get a win but a lot of times you just deal with the cards you’ve got. ” I tried to stay with (Ryan Blaney) my Ford teammate, I knew he was going to have a run at the end but when (Justin Haley) got clearI had to get away from him and try something different.”
Xfinity Series
41 Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer led twice for 16 laps and finished fifth in Friday night’s race at Daytona. He started Stage One on the outside of the front row, battling Sammy Smith for control in the opening laps. By lap nine, the Audibel Ford surged into the lead, keeping Smith at bay until a quick caution slowed the field. After a lengthy red flag for rain, Mayer lined up from the point and maintained his presence at the front as the pack raced tightly. With two laps remaining in the stage, he continued to lead, but as the field fanned out in the final sprint, Mayer slipped to second, securing a strong Stage One result.
Stage Two proved to be a tougher challenge for Mayer. After pitting during the break, he won the race off pit road but lined up third as two cars stayed out. Mayer initially worked the outside lane in Jesse Love’s tire tracks but soon found himself shuffled back in the draft. Prepared to draft back toward the front his run was disrupted by a caution, and when the stage ended under yellow, Mayer was mired deep in the field and credited with a 30th-place finish.
The final stage was a test of composure and perseverance. An early penalty for removing equipment, followed by a punctured tire and another penalty for pitting while pit road was closed, forced Mayer to restart at the tail end of the field. Despite the setbacks, he steadily worked his way forward, climbing into the top 20 and then the top 15. With six laps to go, he restarted 15th, narrowly avoided a multi-car crash, and survived contact that left him with a possible tire rub. Set up for a green-white-checkered overtime finish, Mayer restarted eighth and delivered a determined push through the draft to claim a resilient fifth-place finish.
“The intensity definitely picked up there at the end of this crazy race. I’m really proud of these Haas Factory boys. This Audibel Ford Mustang was amazing,” said Mayer who sits fourth in the Xfinity Playoff standings as the regular season winds down. “It’s great to be consistent and all, but you want to win because when it comes to the playoffs, the bonus points you get are the only thing that matters. We’re gonna keep working on that. We have two more shots at it, and I think we’ll be good at both of those races, so it’s just a matter of getting the job done. The W is the only thing on the mind right now.”
00 Sheldon Creed
Sheldon Creed started 27th Friday night but wasted little time making progress in Stage One. The Ollie’s Ford cracked the top 20 by lap six and continued picking off spots before a caution and red flag for rain slowed the action. Creed reported his car was a little free but overall solid, climbing as high as 13th before settling into 15th at the end of the segment.
Stage Two saw Creed mount a strong charge to the front. As the pack fanned out three-wide, he strategically aligned himself in the draft and climbed into the top 10. He then surged to seventh, fifth, and eventually up to second while drafting off Jesse Love and holding off Austin Hill. Looking poised to contend for the stage win, Creed’s run was halted by a late caution, and the stage ended under yellow with him credited with a strong fifth-place effort.
The final stage gave Creed a chance at his first Xfinity Series victory, and for a time, it looked within reach. After pitting between stages, he restarted eighth, quickly surged to the lead, and battled Ryan Sieg at the front of the field. With the intensity rising in the closing laps, Creed was shuffled back to seventh, then restarted sixth with six laps to go. Late-race chaos led to multiple cautions and ultimately a green-white-checkered overtime finish. Restarting 21st, Creed was swept up in a last-lap crash and left Daytona with a 17th-place result that didn’t reflect his strong performance throughout the night.
“A good day overall for not being able to qualify and just slowly made ourselves up to the front. We got good stage points there in stage two and was able to lead some laps,” said Creed, who was on a run to the front when a multi-car crash collected him. “I kind of new coming from the back on a green-white-checkered that we were gonna probably drive into a crash, knowing how this place works, and that’s kind of exactly what happened. Overall, our Ford Mustang was really fast. I’m thankful for Ollies and Ford and Roush Yates Engines. I felt like we were really good all night.”
Up Next
The Xfinity series returns to action Saturday, August 30th at Portland International Raceway on the CW Network. The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway next weekend. Race coverage is set for 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 31, 2025, 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.
