Custer Perseveres Through Challenging Night to Finish 33rd in Cup Series on Saturday
BRISTOL, TN (September 13, 2025) – Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer kicked off the Round of 12 at Bristol Motor Speedway with strong playoff performances Friday night, finishing second and third after leading laps and nearly capturing victory. Cole Custer finished 33rd after battling early tire issues and a mid-race spin in the Cup Series on Saturday night.
Xfinity Series
00 Sheldon Creed
Sheldon Creed delivered a determined performance in his No. 00 Road Ranger Ford, rallying from a pit road penalty to finish second on Friday night. Starting 10th, Creed gained ground early and ran inside the top 10 until a caution on lap 77. He came down pit road before the stage break but was caught speeding, dropping him to the rear of the field. He ended Stage One in 24th, facing an uphill climb the rest of the night.
Despite the setback, Creed quickly worked his way back into contention. With encouragement from his team, he cracked the top 15 early in Stage Two and continued moving forward, finishing the stage in 12th — a solid recovery while battling near the playoff cutline. He restarted inside the top 10 to begin the final stage and patiently worked his way into the top five with 100 laps remaining. Following a caution with 83 laps to go, Creed passed teammate Sam Mayer for fourth and continued to show strong pace.
A final pit stop under caution on lap 263 for fresh tires and fuel dropped him to 10th, as eight cars stayed out. On the restart, Creed charged forward, going three-wide to rejoin the top five by lap 275. He cleared traffic and moved into third with 10 laps to go, setting some of the fastest laps on the track. After passing Mayer again with two laps left, Creed closed in on leader Aric Almirola but came up just short, finishing second — his 15th career runner-up result and a strong boost for his playoff push
“It was a good rebound. I stumped us early by speeding on that first stop and then just rallied back all night, Creed said. “We’ve struggled and we struggled a little bit tonight and just worked on it and rallied. To come out with a top three finish and up on points is all you can ask for in an opening round.”
41 Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer delivered a strong performance in the No. 41 Audibel Ford, earning valuable stage points and a third-place finish in the Round of 12 opening playoff race. Starting second on the front row, Mayer battled Connor Zilisch early before a caution on lap 12 slowed the field. He lost the second spot on the restart, but ran solidly in third for most of Stage One. A caution on lap 77 allowed Mayer to pit before the stage break, and he still held on to finish fourth, collecting seven crucial points.
Mayer took the lead from Zilisch on the opening restart of Stage Two and set the pace for most of the segment, leading a season-high 68 laps. He was eventually passed by Zilisch while navigating lap traffic on the final lap of the stage but still earned nine more stage points — totaling 16 for the race. Mayer restarted the final stage in second and held the spot until a caution at lap 215, but slipped to fifth on the restart despite staying in contention.
When a caution flew at lap 263, Mayer was one of eight drivers who stayed out. He restarted third with 30 laps to go and held his ground on older tires, even after brushing the wall with 25 to go. Mayer drove back to second and worked different lines to close the gap to leader Aric Almirola, cutting it to just one-tenth of a second. Despite the gritty effort, he was passed by teammate Sheldon Creed with two laps remaining and finished third — a strong run with big playoff implications.
“We were really solid today. I’m really proud of everybody at Haas Factory. If we didn’t get that damage, I think we could have taken it to him, but the toe was knocked in a ton, so I just had no turn there at the end,” Mayer said. “At the end I was just kind of holding on, but to hold on to what we had was really solid, so I’m really proud of these guys and that’s the start of the playoffs you want.”
Cup Series
41 Cole Custer
Cole Custer battled through a tough night at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing 33rd in the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford after dealing with handling issues and tire wear throughout the 500-lap race. After starting 26th, Custer was lapped by lap 30 and fell to 37th, reporting the car was extremely tight in traffic. He pitted on lap 57 for four tires and fuel after suffering a flat right front tire — part of a trend of extreme tire wear across the field.
The tight-handling condition persisted in Stage One, where he finished 35th. Stage Two brought a strategy call for two right-side tires on lap 196 to conserve sets, but Custer went four laps down by lap 225. He took a wave-around during a caution on lap 238 and ended the stage 37th, pitting again for fresh tires under yellow.
Custer restarted deep in the field for the final stage, but contact in turn three on lap 281 sent the No. 41 spinning and broke the right rear toe link. The damage hindered the car for the remainder of the race, but the team made repairs and Custer returned to the track, ultimately bringing the car home in 33rd.
Up Next:
New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Loudon, NH)
The NASCAR Cup Series – Sunday, September 21st at 2 p.m. ET 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.
