Haas Factory Team Overview
Haas Factory Team (HFT) is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Owned by Haas Automation founder Gene Haas, the team made its competitive debut in 2025 and is headquartered in Kannapolis, North Carolina. The organization originated from the closure of Stewart–Haas Racing at the conclusion of the 2024 season and currently fields entries in the No. 41 and No. 00 cars, with Joe Custer serving as team president.
The team operates from the same shop that Stewart–Haas Racing used before its shutdown, situated roughly ten miles north of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Although it shares a geographic base with the Haas F1 Team, HFT is run as a separate business entity. In its first season, the team quickly established its presence with a victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and announced a transition to Chevrolet for 2026, marking Gene Haas’s return to the manufacturer he previously used in stock car competition.
Founding and Organizational Origins
Haas Factory Team traces its origins to the May 28, 2024 announcement that Stewart–Haas Racing would shut down its Cup Series and Xfinity Series operations following the 2024 season. The closure ended a long-running partnership between Gene Haas and Tony Stewart, leaving the future of the team’s assets and personnel uncertain. Less than a month later, on June 20, 2024, Gene Haas confirmed he would retain one of the organization’s charters and reorganize the operation under a new name.
The new team was established with Joe Custer as president, providing experienced leadership drawn from the prior organization. HFT was structured to field a single full-time entry in the Cup Series while also running a two-car effort in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. From the outset, the team maintained a technical alliance with RFK Racing and continued to use Ford Mustangs, signaling continuity with established engineering and parts supply chains during the transition.
The team’s operational base was set up in the existing Stewart–Haas Racing shop in Kannapolis, North Carolina, allowing the new program to retain experienced staff, equipment, and infrastructure. HFT also built additional technical alliances with RSS Racing and AM Racing in the Xfinity Series, broadening its engineering support network as it prepared for its first season of competition.
Growth Into NASCAR Competition
Haas Factory Team formally entered NASCAR national series competition in 2025. On August 17, 2024, the team announced its initial driver lineup, signing Sheldon Creed to drive the No. 00 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Cole Custer to handle the No. 41 entry in the Cup Series. A second O’Reilly seat, the No. 41, was later confirmed for Sam Mayer, giving the team a balanced roster of experienced and rising talent for its debut campaign.
HFT’s first races came at Daytona, where Cole Custer started the Cup season with a 21st-place finish in the 2025 Daytona 500, while the O’Reilly program also debuted at the United Rentals 300. Throughout 2025, the Cup program built its foundation with a pair of top-ten finishes, highlighted by an eighth-place run in Mexico and a fourth-place result at the summer Daytona race. In the O’Reilly Series, Sam Mayer opened with a second-place finish at Daytona and remained consistent, ultimately scoring the team’s first victory at Iowa, which also gave Ford its first win of that year.
Haas Factory Team Competitive Journey
Haas Factory Team’s first season traced a clear path of development, with the O’Reilly program leading results and the Cup team steadily gaining experience. The team competed in a total of 69 races across both series, secured one victory, and earned two pole positions, all in the O’Reilly Series. As the season closed at Phoenix, HFT laid the groundwork for a manufacturer transition, signaling a new competitive phase beginning in 2026.
Early Seasons and Development (2025)
The 2025 season served as HFT’s first competitive year and the foundation of its identity within NASCAR. The team entered the Cup Series with the No. 41 driven by Cole Custer, retaining a charter inherited from Stewart–Haas Racing. Despite struggling to consistently run near the front, the program produced respectable results at Mexico City and the summer Daytona event, providing early data on race setup and aero performance.
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, the team fielded the No. 00 for Sheldon Creed and the No. 41 for Sam Mayer, building a two-car operation supported by technical alliances with RFK Racing, RSS Racing, and AM Racing. Mayer’s consistency quickly made him the team’s lead contender, and his win at Iowa was the clearest sign of the organization’s competitive potential. Creed contributed to the team’s development with consistent finishes, helping establish operational rhythm during a demanding rookie season.
Breakthrough in Cup Series (2025)
While the Cup Series program did not record a victory in 2025, the year produced important learning moments for Haas Factory Team. Cole Custer’s eighth-place finish at the Mexico City race demonstrated the team’s ability to perform on road-course layouts, while his fourth-place result at the summer Daytona event showed competitiveness on superspeedways. These two performances were the highlights of an otherwise developmental year for the No. 41 entry.
Off the track, the most significant breakthrough came on September 5, 2025, when HFT announced it would switch to Chevrolet in 2026 and form a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. The decision marked Gene Haas’s return to Chevrolet, ending the Ford alignment that had carried over from Stewart–Haas Racing, and signaled a new competitive chapter for the organization. On November 17, 2025, Jeremy Clements Racing also announced a technical alliance with HFT for the 2026 O’Reilly season, further expanding the team’s collaborative network.
Modern Program and Current Direction (2025–Present)
As of the end of 2025, Haas Factory Team remains a two-series operation under the leadership of Joe Custer. The team continues to operate from its Kannapolis shop and has confirmed Chevrolet as its manufacturer for the 2026 Cup Series season, paired with a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. Additional technical partnerships with RSS Racing, AM Racing, and Jeremy Clements Racing position the O’Reilly program for broader support in 2026.
The team’s current driver lineup anchors its competitive plans, with Cole Custer returning in the No. 41 Cup entry and Sheldon Creed continuing in the No. 00 O’Reilly car. The No. 41 O’Reilly seat was set to feature Ryan Sieg at the 2025 Phoenix finale after Sam Mayer was suspended for intentionally wrecking Jeb Burton after the checkered flag at Martinsville. HFT enters 2026 focused on translating its early experience into more frequent top finishes and contention for wins in both series.
Philosophy and Competitive Strengths
Haas Factory Team’s early identity is built on technical collaboration, drawing on engineering support from RFK Racing in 2025 and transitioning to a Hendrick Motorsports alliance with Chevrolet in 2026. The team has shown the strongest results on intermediate tracks and superspeedways in the O’Reilly Series, while its Cup program has produced its best finishes on road courses and superspeedways. The combination of experienced leadership under Joe Custer and a young, versatile driver group defines HFT’s approach as it builds toward long-term competitiveness.
Key Milestones and Major Moments
HFT’s first victory came in 2025 at Iowa in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, scored by Sam Mayer and representing Ford’s first win of that year. The team also captured two pole positions in the O’Reilly Series during its debut season. The September 2025 announcement of a switch to Chevrolet and a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports stands as the most significant organizational milestone, signaling a new manufacturer relationship and a renewed competitive direction for 2026.
Haas Factory Team Achievements and Results
Across its first season of competition in 2025, Haas Factory Team recorded one race victory, two pole positions, and 69 total race entries split between the Cup Series and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. All of the team’s wins and poles to date have come in the O’Reilly Series, while the Cup program focused on building a foundation for future seasons. The team has not yet recorded a Drivers’ Championship in either series.
Cup Series Achievements
Haas Factory Team has not recorded a Cup Series victory, pole position, or Drivers’ Championship as of the end of 2025. The team competed in 36 Cup Series races during the season, with Cole Custer driving the No. 41 entry. The best results of the year were an eighth-place finish at the Mexico City race and a fourth-place run at the summer Daytona event, providing the foundation for future growth as the team transitions to Chevrolet in 2026.
Series Achievements
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, HFT earned its first race victory at Iowa in 2025 with Sam Mayer at the wheel of the No. 41 entry. Sheldon Creed competed in the No. 00 car, and the program recorded two pole positions during the season across 33 series races. While the team has not yet claimed a Drivers’ Championship, the Iowa win and consistent qualifying performances marked a successful debut season for the two-car effort.