When it was introduced in Could 2024 that Stewart-Haas Racing can be closing its doorways on the finish of the season, it was seen as the tip of an period for a workforce that had skilled all of the highs and lows that NASCAR racing has to supply.
However a shred of what was SHR lives on by way of former Stewart-Haas co-owner Gene Haas, who retained a single Cup Sequence constitution following the announcement.
In 2025, the rebranded Haas Manufacturing facility Workforce is fielding their lone Cup Sequence entry for 2023 Xfinity Sequence champion Cole Custer, who drove for SHR within the Cup Sequence from 2020-22 earlier than a scarcity of efficiency relegated him to the Xfinity Sequence.
After a stellar two-year stint with SHR’s Xfinity Sequence program, Custer was known as again as much as the Cup Sequence for 2025 and tapped as the brand new face of Gene Haas’ Cup Sequence operation.
With the promotion comes an inherent sense of strain that Custer and the No. 41 workforce aren’t backing away from.
“All of us put the strain on ourselves,” Custer stated in a digital information convention on Wednesday. “At this stage, all of us need to go win. There’s lots of people which have received races on our workforce (and) anticipate to go run up entrance. That is our finish aim, goes to compete for wins. We’re placing that strain on ourselves, and we all know we have to get higher. I believe on the finish of the day, our guys aren’t going to cease working till they get there.”
Whereas these targets are actually good to make use of for motivation, the climb to Cup Sequence victory lane just isn’t a straightforward one, particularly for a workforce in Haas’ scenario.
“As a brand new workforce, now we have to be good about attempting to go on the market and get stable finishes (and) attempting to maximise our days,” Custer stated. “Typically that is not for a win. It is a matter of how we construct our pocket book and transfer in the fitting path. You do not need to be tearing up vehicles whenever you’re attempting to construct a program. You must be good.
“There’s lots of people who need to show some individuals mistaken on our workforce, and we need to go on the market and compete with the most effective of them.”
