Probably the most fast query – who would drive for the staff – was cleared up final weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when present Stewart-Haas Racing Xfinity Sequence driver Cole Custer was named driver of the No. 41 Cup staff starting subsequent season.
The transfer wasn’t a shock contemplating Custer – the reigning Xfinity Sequence 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 collection – Cup, Xfinity and Vehicles – and positively offers the brand new Cup program with a expertise behind the wheel.
An uphill climb for a single-car staff
Maybe the extra vital 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 collection 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 staff took an enormous step ahead in competitiveness and commenced to win races and championships.
Actually, there isn’t a purpose to consider Haas has any intentions of returning to an “additionally ran” group.
Actually, it could be counterproductive to his intentions of selling his personal corporations on the automotive. Why make investments thousands and thousands into one thing that wouldn’t draw consideration and be entrance and heart of the game’s media highlight?
Joe Custer mentioned his directive is to construct a staff 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 outstanding uptick in efficiency within the final two seasons. HFT will even proceed its relationship with Ford Efficiency.
“Taking all of the assets that we carry to the desk and mixing it with their success and the assets they’ve, we sit up for RFK and Haas Manufacturing facility Crew competing for wins and championships shoulder to shoulder,” Custer mentioned.
“Together with Ford as a associate, we’re missing no assets going into subsequent yr. Folks-wise, human capital, I’m joyful to say we’re properly on the way in which there to assembling the staff able to competing for wins.
“We’re centered on the whole lot associated to human capital, from the pit crew to engineering assets. So, we gained’t have any excuses going into subsequent yr. We’ve received the motive force, we’ve received the staff, we’ve received the connection, we’ve received the OEM.”
“Gene [Haas] is dedicated”
The lingering query – one which gained’t be answered till the staff hits the observe in 2025 – is whether or not HFT can produce the outcomes?
Many single-car operations in latest many years haven’t fared properly in competitiveness however the introduction of the Subsequent Gen automotive within the 2022 season might have made the pathway to success a bit simpler.
Groups now buy just about your complete automotive from single-source suppliers quite than spending thousands and thousands engineering their very own components and items, which was a bonus of bigger and extra financially secure organizations.
The separation between groups appears to have turn out 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 certain,” Joe Custer mentioned about starting this enterprise within the Subsequent Gen period. “The assets crucial are completely different. Gene is dedicated to it. I believe the long run is extra issues like software program improvement, sim, a unique set of instruments within the toolbox.
“We will verify the field on the bodily components and items and capital funding that we had and the successes we loved at Stewart-Haas have been utilizing a unique 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 data base is and assist us evolve. Strategically, we there’s assets that we are able to 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 Sequence and believes HFT might help his profession thrive.
“On the finish of the day, each single driver within the Cup Sequence can most likely go on the market and go quick. But it surely’s a matter of the way you persistently get that velocity and how one can work together with your staff to get the texture that you just want within the automotive persistently,” he mentioned.
“I believe with the ability to have these abilities extra polished now, and I believe, identical to my dad mentioned, having the assets to go on the market and compete with the very best on the market, I’m actually excited.
“I believe we are able to do some nice issues.”