Cole Custer will make his return to the NASCAR Cup Series for the 2025 season as he leads Haas Factory Team.
The reigning Xfinity Series champion announced Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that he will drive the lone Cup entry for Haas Factory Team next season. He will compete full-time in Cup for the first time since the end of the 2022 season.
Custer will drive the No. 41 Ford, the same number he used during his previous tenure in the Cup Series. Haas Automation and HaasTooling.com will serve as his primary partners.
Also announced Saturday is that Haas Factory Team will remain with Ford Performance. The team will have an "open book" technical alliance with RFK Racing starting in 2025.
Going Cup racing in 2025 pic.twitter.com/KhBuetTBRu
— Cole Custer (@ColeCuster) July 20, 2024
Moving to the Cup Series with Haas Factory Team is a possibility Custer discussed in June. He said that it would be a "dream come true" to race the Cup car for team owner Gene Haas.
"Cole has represented Haas Automation for more than half his life and he's delivered results every step of the way. He just wins, and he's proven that repeatedly," Haas said in a statement. "On his way to winning the Xfinity Series championship last year, Cole really carved out an identity for himself, on the track and off.
"He brings home trophies and he races people clean. He's earned a lot of respect from his peers, and he's a genuine personality whose hard work resonates with our customers. The NASCAR Cup Series is tough, but Cole is coming back wiser and tougher. We're very happy to have him in our colors and in our racecar."
The California native has made 117 starts at NASCAR's top level, primarily with Stewart-Haas Racing. He moved to the series full-time in 2020 and won Rookie of the Year. Custer won a race at Kentucky and posted seven top-10 finishes during his rookie season.
Custer's next two seasons were less productive. He only had two top-10 finishes in 2021 and only three in 2022. He finished outside the top 20 in points in both seasons.
Stewart-Haas Racing chose to move Custer back to the Xfinity Series in 2023 while putting Ryan Preece in the No. 41 Cup car. The move was significant as he won three races and the Xfinity championship.
Custer leads the Xfinity Series standings once again as he prepares for the return of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. He has one win, which he scored last weekend at Pocono Raceway. He also has finished inside the top 10 in 15 of the 18 races this season.
"I think for me, whenever I went back to the Xfinity Series, my goal was always to go back to Cup," Custer said at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June.
"So, I've been trying to work on what I can do to get myself better over the past year and a half. At the end of the day, you try and do as best you can and you hope it all sorts itself out."
Custer has put in the work in Xfinity while getting back to victory lane multiple times. Starting in 2025, he will have the opportunity to pursue Cup wins once again.