Joe Custer: Haas “dead committed” to making NASCAR Cup…

Joe Custer: Haas “dead committed” to making NASCAR Cup team work

At Iowa Speedway on Saturday, Haas Factory Team announced plans to expand its NASCAR O'Reilly Series team with a third full-time entry for 2027, piloted by Dean Thompson.

The team also runs one full-time entry in the NASCAR Cup Series, driven by Cole Custer. During the announcement, team president Joe Custer — Cole’s father — also addressed the future of Haas’s Cup operation.

Haas is one of just three single-car full-time chartered teams in the Cup Series, alongside Hyak Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing. And while charter prices have skyrocketed (with estimates approaching $100 million) after the settlement in the 23XI/FRM vs. NASCAR lawsuit, Haas is not interested in selling.

"We have unfinished business in the Cup Series as Haas Factory Team," said Custer while answering a question from Lee Spencer. "So, no, we are dead committed. Gene Haas is an F1 owner and a NASCAR Cup owner, and also an O'Reilly owner, and we intend to keep it that way. His business is strong. He's a friend, a mentor, and also a passionate racer. So, we are going to try to figure out Cup as a single car team, and we got ways to go.

"But stay tuned. Stay tuned, because we're not happy, (but) we're happy with what the trend has been recently. GM believes in us, our owner believes in us, our partners believe in us, our driver believes in us.

Cole Custer, Haas Factory Team (Photo by: Logan Riely / Getty Images)

"We've got some cool things happening on the Cup side." He later clarified that Haas has no intention of rebuilding the multi-car operation that existed under Stewart-Haas Racing.

"We have more of an interest in becoming closer and closer to GM and our technical partner," explained Custer. "So, that's our vision, and we feel we have a lot to offer -- weird stuff, not normal stuff. You know, manufacturing, things that aren't sexy, things that are behind the scenes that we try to leverage, and come to our partners, key players, whether it be GM, Hendrick, et cetera...

"I just want fast race cars? That's all I want out of it. I want to go to the front. We're not there yet. We've got some work to do, but stay tuned. We're not sitting around. We're moving."

Gene Haas, who also owns the Haas F1 Team with drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, has been a team owner in NASCAR for over two decades.

In 2009, he partnered with Tony Stewart, and together, they built a four-car super team that won Cup titles in 2011 and 2014. After Stewart exited and SHR shut down following the 2024 season, Haas retained one charter and placed Custer in the car.

Custer, a former NASCAR O’Reilly Series champion, finished 32nd in the 2025 Cup standings with a best result of fourth and currently sits 30th in 2026.