Haas Factory Team Overview
Haas Factory Team is an American professional stock car racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The team is owned by Gene Haas and is headquartered in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Joe Custer serves as team president. Haas Factory Team launched operations in 2025 after a reorganization following the closure of a previous operation at the end of 2024.
Founding and Organizational Origins
Haas Factory Team emerged when Gene Haas retained a charter and reorganized a Cup and Xfinity operation to continue competing at the national level beginning in 2025. The effort preserved much of the existing infrastructure and personnel by operating out of the same shop used by the prior organization, establishing continuity in facilities and logistical support.
Leadership priorities at launch emphasized stabilizing race operations and establishing technical relationships to support immediate competitiveness. Joe Custer was named president to manage day-to-day operations and to guide the team through its first season of competition under the Haas Factory Team banner.
Growth Into NASCAR Competition
The team stepped into NASCAR national competition with entries in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for the 2025 season. At inception the program relied on technical alliances and supplier relationships to field competitive cars while building its internal engineering and pit-road capabilities.
Early operational strategy combined retained assets and charters with new driver lineups and partnerships aimed at maintaining race continuity across both series. The organization also established multiple technical alliances in Xfinity competition to broaden its engineering resources and accelerate development.
Haas Factory Team Competitive Journey
Haas Factory Team moved quickly from formation to full-season competition in 2025, contesting the Daytona season openers in both the Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and completing a full slate of national races that year. The inaugural season delivered a mix of learning, stable finishes, and a breakthrough win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Early Seasons and Development (2025)
In its first season, Haas Factory Team entered both national series and completed the 2025 calendar, with the Cup debut taking place at the 2025 Daytona 500 and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut at the 2025 United Rentals 300 at Daytona. The organization focused on establishing reliable race operations, refining setups across a wide range of tracks, and improving pit-stop execution.
Race totals for the inaugural year are recorded as 69 combined events across both series, with 36 Cup Series starts and 33 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts. The team earned a single race victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, two pole positions in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and completed the season without a drivers’ championship in either series.
Breakthrough in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (2025)
The team’s most notable competitive result in 2025 came in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, where a full-season entry scored the program’s first victory. The Xfinity-level operation fielded multiple cars, including a No. 00 driven by Sheldon Creed and a No. 41 driven by Sam Mayer during the season. Sam Mayer recorded a runner-up finish at the season opener at Daytona and later earned the team’s first win of the year at Iowa, delivering a milestone result for the program and for the manufacturer partnership at that time.
To support its Xfinity program, Haas Factory Team entered multiple technical alliances with series partners to enhance race-car preparation and share engineering resources. Those alliances were a central part of the team’s development plan and helped accelerate its transition from a start-up operation into a race-winning competitor at the national short-track and intermediate levels.
Breakthrough in NASCAR Cup Series (2025)
In the NASCAR Cup Series the organization operated a chartered full-time entry in the No. 41 car with Cole Custer listed as the Cup driver for the 2025 season. The Cup program experienced a difficult opening year while building toward consistency; the team’s Cup car finished the 2025 Daytona 500 in the low 20s and recorded a small number of top-10 results, including an eighth-place at Mexico and a fourth-place at the summer Daytona event as the best finishes of the season.
The Cup operation prioritized establishing a baseline for car performance across superspeedways, intermediate ovals, and road courses while working to expand the technical staff and pit-crew capabilities. Those efforts were aimed at converting competitive runs into regular top-10s and contending for Playoff positions in subsequent seasons.
Modern Program and Current Direction (2025–Present)
By the conclusion of the 2025 season, Haas Factory Team had pursued a defined path toward greater technical integration with established NASCAR manufacturers and teams. Initially the program fielded Ford Mustang machinery supported by a technical alliance with RFK Racing and further technical relationships in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with RSS Racing and AM Racing. Leadership then announced a planned manufacturer and technical shift, signaling continued investment in competitive stability.
On September 5, 2025, Haas Factory Team announced it would switch its manufacturer alignment to Chevrolet beginning in 2026 and enter a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. In parallel, the team later confirmed an alliance with Jeremy Clements Racing for the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season to broaden its engineering cooperation and resource sharing ahead of the next season.
Engineering Philosophy and Competitive Strengths
Haas Factory Team’s early engineering approach emphasized practical integration of existing tooling and personnel with targeted technical alliances to accelerate learning curves. The program relied on partner relationships to supplement aerodynamic and chassis development while building its own trackside engineering group, with particular focus on short-track setups and intermediate-speed balance for its initial victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Key Milestones and Major Moments
Key milestones in the team’s first year include the competitive debut at the 2025 Daytona season openers in both national series, an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race victory that delivered the program’s first win, and the official 2025 announcements to change manufacturer alignment and to form a high-profile technical alliance for 2026. The retention of a charter and the transition of a stable leadership team under Gene Haas and Joe Custer were foundational organizational moments.
Haas Factory Team Achievements and Results
In its inaugural season Haas Factory Team completed 69 national-series races, secured one race victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, recorded two pole positions in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and entered the record books as a new multi-series competitor with room to grow in subsequent seasons.
Cup Series Achievements
Across 36 Cup Series starts in 2025 the team did not record a Cup Series win or pole but managed several notable competitive finishes, including top-10 results at select events. The Cup program delivered consistent race completions and established a baseline for car and crew development heading into its second season.
Xfinity Series Achievements
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series the team registered its first national-series victory during the 2025 season and secured two pole positions. The Xfinity-level success also included strong early-season performances, a runner-up finish at Daytona, and the development of emerging drivers who contributed to the program’s immediate competitiveness.
