Haas Factory Team announced Friday that Cole Custer will return for a third straight season as driver of the No. 41 entry in the NASCAR Cup Series next year.
The news came as NASCAR’s top circuit prepares for Sunday’s Bank of America 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It also answers one of the few remaining questions surrounding the Cup Series’ “Silly Season” driver movement for 2027.
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Custer has long been connected to team owner Gene Haas, first through Haas’ partnership with Tony Stewart under the Stewart-Haas Racing banner and later with Haas Factory Team, which rebranded after Stewart’s ownership departure ahead of the 2025 season. That reorganization established HFT as a single-car effort in the Cup Series, and Custer has been its driver ever since.
“We are excited to have Cole Custer back in the 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet for 2027,” Haas said. “Cole is a championship-caliber driver who brings the consistency we need on a weekly basis and we are proud to continue to support him in the NASCAR Cup Series.”
Custer finished 32nd in the Cup Series standings last year, and that also represents his current ranking with five races left in the 2026 campaign. The 28-year-old California native has one top-10 finish this year, a 10th-place result in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in August.
Custer is a 15-time winner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, capturing the 2023 championship for Stewart-Haas and finishing as the circuit’s runner-up three times. He also earned a Cup Series triumph at Kentucky Speedway in 2020, converting a bold four-wide pass on the final lap into a victory that helped him seal Rookie of the Year honors.
Haas Factory Team switched manufacturers from Ford to Chevrolet this season. The organization also fields a two-car effort in the O’Reilly Series, with points leader Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer as teammates.