Cole Custer Eyes All-Star Berth, Reflects on Daytona 500 Finish and Hopes for Haas Factory Team’s Future

By Colin Ward 

KANSAS CITY, KS - MAY 10: Cole Custer drives his No 41 Haas Ford into turn one at Kansas Speedway (Photo by Riley Ogel / Motorsports Today)

As NASCAR heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway for All-Star weekend, Cole Custer is gearing up for a new challenge. 

Custer has never raced at the historic short track in any of NASCAR’s top three series’, and he’ll have to earn his way into the All-Star Race in the 100 lap Open on Sunday.

“The plan is you’ve got to finish top two,” Custer said. “We had a good car at Martinsville, and that should translate a bit to North Wilkesboro, so hopefully we’ve got a good shot.”

It’s a track full of character, and Custer knows there’s a learning curve. “It’s a unique place,” he said. “I’ve never been there before, so I’ll definitely need to figure it out those first coupe of laps. It’s funky—downhill into turn one, uphill into turn three, really bumpy, and how the corners are shaped it’s really awkward. You’ve got to be on your game when you show up there.”

To prepare for Sunday, Custer has leaned heavily on simulator time and film study. “I’ve definitely been watching film, taking notes, and using the Ford simulator. I’m doing whatever I can to try and prepare.”

Custer wasn’t at North Wilkesboro for either of the last two All-Star races, so this weekend will be his first time seeing the iconic North Carolina track. 

“I’m excited to see how passionate the crowd is,” he said. “They’ve done a great job the last couple of years getting a lot of people there. The fans love it, with how old school it is. It’s going to be a cool weekend.”

This season marks a big change in Custer’s career. After Stewart-Haas Racing shut its doors at the end of last year, the team rebranded as Haas Factory Team, downsizing from four full-time Cup Series cars to just one — with Custer getting signed as the driver.

Long-term, he’s focused on building something competitive. “Right now, that kind of stuff’s so far off I don’t even know what to say,” he said when asked about possibly taking on an ownership role with Haas one day. 

“We want to get to the point where we can compete for wins. We knew this year we’d have to walk before we ran. There are a lot of new people and new resources with our alliance with RFK, so we’ve had a lot to sort through. It’s been a bit of a slow start, but hopefully we can hit our stride this summer.”

In the meantime, Custer is also working closely with two of the sport’s rising stars—Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer—his teammates in the Xfinity Series this year.

“Sheldon and Sam are great drivers—they’re going to figure it out,” he said. “I’ve just tried to help them get up to speed with our cars, what they handle like, and what we fight with. They’ve both been really fast this year and I hope they can get some wins soon.”

Custer said their working relationship has extended beyond the track. “It’s been great. We usually work out together and see each other during the week, so we’re able to bounce ideas back and forth before race weekends.”

One of the biggest moments of Custer’s season so far came at the Daytona 500, where he nearly won in his first race with the new Haas Factory Team. On the final lap, he made a bold move to the front in hopes of pulling off a Cinderella win.

“That was a crazy race,” he said. “Our guys worked harder than anyone over the offseason. For our first race as a team to have a shot to win the Daytona 500—it was huge.”

“I probably should’ve waited until the frontstretch, but I thought, ‘This is the Daytona 500. I have to go for it.’ So I made the move on the backstretch, and after that it was chaos. We all wrecked.”

Even without the win, it was a moment that will stick with Custer for the rest of his life.

“There was definitely a second where I thought, ‘I might actually win this thing,’” he said. “That’s the biggest race in our sport. It’s life-changing. So to have a shot at it—your heart rate definitely gets up. But you’ve got to stay calm and make the best decision you can with what you’ve got.”

As Custer gets ready for North Wilkesboro and the summer stretch of the season, he’s hoping the foundation he’s helped build at Haas Factory Team starts turning into positive results.

“We’ve still got a lot of growing to do,” he said. “But we’re getting there.”

As the NASCAR season moves forward, Custer’s just taking it all in stride. Whether it’s trying to race into the All-Star main event or helping build something special with Haas Factory Team, he’s staying focused and keeping things in perspective. 

Custer knows the road won’t always be easy, but with the right people around him and a few more chances to contend—like at Daytona—he’s confident the wins will come.

Listen to Colin’s entire interview with Cole Custer on Motorsports Today, live tomorrow at 12pm ET, 88.7 FM, wrsu.org and Spotify.