Probably the most fast query – who would drive for the crew – was cleared up final weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when present Stewart-Haas Racing Xfinity Collection driver Cole Custer was named driver of the No. 41 Cup crew starting subsequent season.
The transfer wasn’t a shock contemplating Custer – the reigning Xfinity Collection champion – has beforehand pushed for Haas in Cup and his father, Joe, will handle the HFT operation.
The youthful Custer has gained in all three NASCAR nationwide sequence – Cup, Xfinity and Vans – and positively offers the brand new Cup program with a expertise behind the wheel.
An uphill climb for a single-car crew
Maybe the extra necessary query for HFT is can it do what different single-car operations have traditionally struggled at – persistently competing for wins?
Haas by no means gained a Cup race in his first foray into the sequence with Haas CNC Racing. It wasn’t till after NASCAR Corridor of Famer Tony Stewart was added as a co-owner of the rebranded SHR that the crew took a giant step ahead in competitiveness and started to win races and championships.
Definitely, there isn’t a motive to imagine Haas has any intentions of returning to an “additionally ran” group.
In truth, it could be counterproductive to his intentions of selling his personal firms on the automotive. Why make investments hundreds of thousands into one thing that wouldn’t draw consideration and be entrance and middle of the game’s media highlight?
Joe Custer mentioned his directive is to construct a crew that “can compete for wins a championship” and he has already secured a number of items to finish that puzzle.
Cole Custer, Stewart-Haas Racing, Haas Automation Ford Mustang
Photograph by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Pictures
HFT has entered right into a technical alliance in 2025 with RFK Racing, which has undergone a exceptional uptick in efficiency within the final two seasons. HFT may even proceed its relationship with Ford Efficiency.
“Taking all of the sources that we convey to the desk and mixing it with their success and the sources they’ve, we stay up for RFK and Haas Manufacturing unit Staff competing for wins and championships shoulder to shoulder,” Custer mentioned.
“Together with Ford as a associate, we’re missing no sources going into subsequent 12 months. Individuals-wise, human capital, I’m pleased to say we’re effectively on the way in which there to assembling the crew able to competing for wins.
“We’re centered on every little thing associated to human capital, from the pit crew to engineering sources. So, we gained’t have any excuses going into subsequent 12 months. We’ve bought the motive force, we’ve bought the crew, we’ve bought the connection, we’ve bought the OEM.”
“Gene [Haas] is dedicated”
The lingering query – one which gained’t be answered till the crew hits the observe in 2025 – is whether or not HFT can produce the outcomes?
Many single-car operations in current a long time haven’t fared effectively in competitiveness however the introduction of the Subsequent Gen automotive within the 2022 season could have made the pathway to success a bit simpler.
Groups now buy just about your entire automotive from single-source suppliers moderately than spending hundreds of thousands engineering their very own elements and items, which was a bonus of bigger and extra financially secure organizations.
The separation between groups appears to have grow to be smaller and extra refined, centered extra on areas like particular person driving traits, pits crews and technique calls.
“It is fairly a bit completely different for positive,” Joe Custer mentioned about starting this enterprise within the Subsequent Gen period. “The sources vital are completely different. Gene is dedicated to it. I believe the long run is extra issues like software program improvement, sim, a distinct set of instruments within the toolbox.
“We will test the field on the bodily elements and items and capital funding that we had and the successes we loved at Stewart-Haas had been utilizing a distinct set of instruments than the NextGen is providing.
“So candidly, we’re leaning on Brad (Keselowski) and his group at RFK so as to add to what our information base is and assist us evolve. Strategically, we there’s sources that we will provide that may make their program stronger and vice versa.”
Time will inform whether or not that’s the case.
However Cole Custer, for one, has no intentions of squandering one other shot at competing within the Cup Collection and believes HFT may also help his profession thrive.
“On the finish of the day, each single driver within the Cup Collection can most likely go on the market and go quick. Nevertheless it’s a matter of the way you persistently get that pace and how one can work together with your crew to get the texture that you just want within the automotive persistently,” he mentioned.
“I believe having the ability to have these expertise extra polished now, and I believe, similar to my dad mentioned, having the sources to go on the market and compete with the perfect on the market, I’m actually excited.
“I believe we will do some nice issues.”
