Haas Factory Team president Joe Custer always anticipated a ‘gut check’ moment this season and the results led them to Chevrolet next season.
In the first year following four-car powerhouse Stewart-Haas Racing consolidating into the single-car Haas Factory Team Custer expected a challenge but is also under a mandate from team owner Gene Haas to be more competitive.
Driver Cole Custer, also Joe’s son, is 33rd in the Cup Series standings but also has a championship winning resume to suggest there is more to unlock under the right circumstances. Thus, over the summer, the elder Custer competed a thorough analysis of where they were compared to the expectations in Year One.
“Well, for us, the results speak for themselves on the Cup side,” Custer told Motorsport.com on Wednesday. “This is a performance based, results driven sport and we need to be better. Candidly, we expected to have to assess where we were by a certain point this year and we found reasons for optimism but we also needed a reality check in other areas.”
Operating almost like a start-up, Haas Factory Team entered into an alliance with RFK Racing but upon shopping around this summer, Custer found a better deal with some familiar faces in the General Motors circle.
“I do want to say that Ford did literally everything they say said they would,” Custer said. “It’s a just a matter of what we found when we evaluated our strengths and our weaknesses, did our deep dive, and decided we wanted a degree of synergy and alignment when it came to our strengths and what we have not done as well.”
Haas Factory Team logo on equipment (1)
(Re) enter Rick Hendrick.
Gene Haas first entered NASCAR in the 1990s as a partner to Hendrick Motorsports, not only as a sponsor but also as a key partner, providing his CNC shop and metal cutting expertise to the emergent Cup organization. Haas then started his own team in 2003 with support from Hendrick, a relationship that extended into the SHR years and both championships with Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick.
So this is kind of a Back to the Future moment for Custer.
“The times have changed but what hasn’t changed is the relationship,” Custer said. “It’s a healthy relationship. Rick has always appreciated good manufacturing and our heritage is in CNC machinery and metal cutting.
“Dive deeper, we have tools at our shop that have value and engineering tools to augment what they’re already doing. There’s a friendship and mutual trust that makes this just make a lot of sense for us.”
Haas Factory Team will continue to operate out of the former Stewart-Haas shop in Kannapolis. Custer does not expect to have an office at the Hendrick campus in Concord but anticipates there being a lot of travel back and forth between both parties as they help each other.
Ultimately, Haas just needed better data to unload with the kind of speed they will need in an era with drastically reduced practice time and a single source supplied racing platform.
“Where we needed help is data,” Custer said. “We need simulation tools to have a predictable car at the track. Ideally, it unloads the way we expect it to based on what we developed in simulation.”
Cole Custer, Haas Factory Team Ford
Photo by: Samuel Corum / Getty Images
And that just hasn’t consistently been the case this season.
Another element of Haas Factory Team business this decision will affect is the company’s customer car program. Haas services chassis development and repair for Sieg Racing and AM Racing. A partnership with Chevrolet means closer coordination with JR Motorsports and Hendrick at the Xfinity Series level but Custer says it’s too soon to know what this means for the customer program.
“We’re exploring our options with our partner teams,” Custer said. “They might want to stay with Ford and they might want to explore their options. They have to decide on the best course of action for them and no matter what decisions they make, we’ll certainly do what we can to help them.”
Custer says HFT has a ‘symbiotic relationship’ with its partner teams and they are just as valuable to them as vice versa. He anticipates having that program next year but ultimately says what that looks like will be shaped by all those conversations in the months to come.
With certainty, Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed will be back in the flagship No. 41 and 00 cars, respectively. Custer also expects his son to be back in the No. 41 Cup car, while also saying if other opportunities were to come about for the 2023 Xfinity Series champion, he would be free to explore them.
“He’s got a career to look out for,” the elder Custer said. “We have to build a team for him to best showcase his abilities. We’re aligned right now in the sense that our goals and his are pointed the same direction. That could always change. That’s how racing is.
“Ultimately, if you’re improving, everyone is generally happy and if you’re not, everyone generally isn’t.”
Most importantly, Custer thinks it’s possible to build a championship contender under this model, a single-car satellite team, albeit one with its own independent shop and machining capabilities. In fact, he thinks it’s actually more straightforward than what Furniture Row accomplished with Martin Truex Jr. in 2017.
Custer thinks its simpler in a sense because they are in the greater Charlotte area and they do have their own high-performance car building capacity and history. The decision to join Chevrolet and Hendrick just came down to the data, engineering and CFD.
“I think it can be done,” Custer said. “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think we could. Has it been done yet? Certainly not with this car but that’s also the allure to me, what drives me, that I believe we can win races and compete for a championship.”
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After years of racing out of residential garages, take a look inside Ricky Thornton Jr’s new race shop
Ricky Thornton Jr won 31 races in the 2025 season. He went on to finish 2nd in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings.
He’s has been racing since 2005. And until now, he has only used residential garages outside of other teams he’s raced for.
400+ wins and 30+ championships later, he has opened a new shop in Iowa. Koehler Motorsports will continue to use their shop in Mount Airy, NC. But, the Iowa shop will also be used when the team is in the area.
Take a look at the photos of the Ricky Thornton Jr Racing shop below.
Ricky Thornton Jr Racing comments
The team shared the following update:
“After a career of racing out of residential garages, (and some beautiful shops of others) Ricky finally has his very own personal race shop. A true dream come true,” the team opened via social media.
“Graystone Companies- thank you Troy for the time you put into this project. Deadlines & expectations were heavily exceeded! If you’re looking to build anything in the Des Moines metro, Graystone Companies is what you’re looking for! Thank you to Ganoe Excavating, Inc. for the dirt work, D and E Outside Services for the tree removal, and Matt Allen for the floor finish!”
“Our Koehler Motorsports team will continue to race out of their Mount Airy, NC shop, but our Iowa shop will be a frequent stopping point throughout the summer!”
The 2026 season is set to begin. Thornton Jr is heading to Central Arizona Raceway for the Wild West Shootout beginning on January 10th.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series removes playoff format for 2026
Ricky Thornton Jr Race Shop (Photos)
Ricky Thornton Jr Race ShopBathroom – Ricky Thornton Jr Race Shop – IowaRicky Thornton Jr Race Shop – IowaFormer Shop – Ricky Thornton Jr Race Shop – Iowa
The 2026 season will be a special one for Team Penske, which made its first foray into the racing scene in 1966. Whether it’s NASCAR, IndyCar or IMSA, Team Penske has enjoyed plenty of success and plans to savor many more victories in the future.
Team Penske cars in all three major series will sport special retro livery at select races, while the team will also introduce an anniversary identity that will appear across its race cars, uniforms, digital platforms and merchandise, with the first items available online and in the team store beginning in January.
“Our 60th anniversary is a tremendous milestone for our organization,” Roger Penske said in a team release. “The 2026 season will give us the opportunity to celebrate the people, partners and fans who have helped shape Team Penske since 1966, while also looking ahead to the future. This year ahead is a meaningful one with many terrific moments for our team and story still to come.”
Few teams can match the Penske programs when it comes to success on the track. The team has 20 Indianapolis 500 victories, three Daytona 500 wins and has won at least one major championship for the past 14 years, including last season’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sweep of the team, drivers and manufacturers titles. It was the second straight season Porsche Penske swept the awards and last season saw the team become the first since 2017 to win Daytona and Sebring in the same season.
With the team not competing in the World Endurance Championship in 2026, Team Penske will focus all of its sportscar racing attention on IMSA. Despite winning the GTP title the past two seasons, there will be some new faces on the team in 2026.
The team will see Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor move from the WEC to drive the No. 6 Porsche 963, while the No. 7 will be in the hands of Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer. Matt Campbell, one of the championship drivers this season, will serve as the endurance driver for the No. 6 car at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta, while Laurin Heinrich will serve in the same role for the No. 7 Porsche. All six are Porsche factory drivers.
Porsche Penske will begin its 2026 season in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway Jan. 16-18. The Rolex 24 At Daytona begins Saturday, Jan. 24.
MANAMA: The director of the Kuwaiti Motor Sports Club, Sheikh Sabah Dawood Al-Sabah, praised the outstanding results achieved by the club’s racers in the second round of the Bahrain Drag Racing Championship on Saturday, emphasizing that they reflect the advanced level reached by Kuwaiti champions in this sport. The team director stated that the racers delivered a remarkable performance in the competitions held at the Bahrain International Circuit’s drag strip.
Abdullah Ali Al-Aqab secured first place in the Pro 29.5 category, while Ahmed Zaman took second place in the 8.5 Index category, and Fawaz Al-Awadhi finished third in the same category. The remaining members of the participating delegation also achieved high rankings in the eight rounds.
Al-Sabah affirmed that these achievements are the fruit of the continuous efforts exerted by the racers and the technical and administrative staff.
He noted the club’s commitment to providing all means of support and care to raise Kuwait’s flag high in regional and international events, wishing them continued success in future competitions.
The second round of the Bahrain National Drag Racing Championship, the most popular drag racing championship in the region, kicked off over the past two days at the Bahrain International Circuit’s drag strip. The new season of the Bahrain Drag Racing Championship is scheduled to run until March, with the third and fourth rounds taking place in January and the championship concluding in March. — KUNA
It’s the biggest motorcycle drag racing grudge race of the year, Kings of Grudge Grinchmas from Orlando Speedworld Dragway and we cover this shocker as a fast mini bike calls out a stretched Suzuki Hayabusa grudge bike on the opening day of this event. We also see some motorcycle drag racing gone wrong as a fast Suzuki Hayabusa and GSXR 1000 suffer engine damage. Enjoy some thrilling motorcycle drag racing from Kings of Grudge
There are more videos on the Cycledrag Youtube channel (please subscribe here) and like the Cycledrag Facebook page (Please like here) and more will be coming soon. Also subscribe to our NEW Youtube channel “Racing Jack” and Check back daily.
It’s episode No. 3 of the Racing Jack Show and we sit down with media mogul “Bubba The Love Sponge” to Talk about what’s really hurting the racing business and what the sport must do to bring fans back to NHRA, NASCAR, Dirt Races and a whole lot more. After an in-depth discussion on the state of motorsports and racing the leader of the Bubba Army shocks us when he calls his good buddy and motorsports legend Tony Stewart.
We ask Bubba how the next generation of race fan has changed, how difficult it is to run a track and an organization and how racing organizations can follow the successful formula of WWE and UFC. We also discuss the controversial decision by the NHRA to cancel its final race of the season and discuss some of the interworking of NHRA drag racing and how it functions as a not for profit organization. Bubba also talks about what it’s like to climb the ladder in NASCAR in today’s climate compared to how it once was in the days of greats like Dale Earnhardt Sr. Finally we discuss Bubba’s reporting on the untimely death of Hulk Hogan and how the wrestling legend’s passing changes the way Cycledrag operates.
There are more videos on the Cycledrag Youtube channel (please subscribe here) and like the Cycledrag Facebook page (Please like here) and more will be coming soon. Also subscribe to our NEW Youtube channel “Racing Jack” and Check back daily.
We head to the biggest motorcycle drag racing grudge race of the year where we unfortunately see one fast racer on a Suzuki GSXR blow an en engine and suffer a big top end crash at Orlando Speedworld Dragway. It’s motorcycle drag racing gone wrong as this veteran driver suffers an incident but the good news is he was alert and awake and the Orlando safety team was right on top of it. We also see some unbelievable motorcycle drag racing as nitrous and turbo Suzuki Hayabusa and GSXR 1000 and Kawasaki ZX-14 stretched bikes go for big money win at the biggest Grudge race of the year, Kings of Grudge Grinchmas from Orlando, FL
There are more videos on the Cycledrag Youtube channel (please subscribe here) and like the Cycledrag Facebook page (Please like here) and more will be coming soon. Also subscribe to our NEW Youtube channel “Racing Jack” and Check back daily.
