Cole Custer Battles Under the Lights at Richmond Raceway to Finish 29th.
By Haas Factory Team
RICHMOND, VA (August 15, 2026) – Cole Custer battled handling issues and tire wear throughout the night at Richmond Raceway, bringing the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Chevrolet home 29th under the lights on Saturday night.
41 Cole Custer:
Rolling off 29th at the 0.75-mile track, Custer made an early push forward in the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Chevrolet. He gained four positions on the opening run before settling into 25th and making his first pit stop for fresh tires on lap 31. After battling rear grip following the stop, Custer fought to remain on the lead lap and was able to finish Stage One on the lead lap just three car lengths ahead of the leader.
Custer restarted 27th after pitting under the stage caution but continued to battle handling issues from the opening stage. He made his next stop on lap 123 and cycled back onto the track just behind a spinning Zane Smith, triggering the second caution of the race. Despite taking the wave-around in his No. 41 HaasTooling.com Chevrolet, Custer finished Stage Two in 32nd.
Starting the final stage two laps down, Custer continued to battle late-run handling issues as he worked to gain ground. A lap 273 pit stop put the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Chevrolet three laps down just before another caution. After two additional green-flag stops, Custer fought through the closing laps to secure a 29th-place finish.
“I feel like we fired off solid but chased the track and then didn't catch any breaks with pit cycles or cautions coming out,” Custer said. “I felt like we had a better car by the end of the race but are still working on our short track program and trying to get it better. Thank you to everyone at HaasTooling.com and Chevrolet for their continued support.”
Up Next:
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next Sunday, August 23rd, with race coverage on USA set for 3 p.m. ET.
About Haas Factory Team:
Haas Factory Team is a NASCAR Cup and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series program owned by Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. New in 2026, Haas Factory will align with Chevrolet. As part of the manufacturer switch, HFT will have a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, which will include using Hendrick-built engines across both series. The team will feature Cole Custer driving the No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series, while Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer take on the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series in the No. 00 and No. 41 Chevrolet Camaros, respectively. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Haas Factory Team reflects a commitment to performance and engineering excellence, carrying forward Gene Haas’s commitment to motorsports.