Cole Custer Rallies Late to Finish 17th in Rain-Delayed Cup Series Race at EchoPark.
By Haas Factory Team
HAMPTON, GA (July 12, 2026) – Despite a three-hour rain delay, Cole Custer and the No. 41 Sysco/RaceTrac team used a strong overtime restart to record a 17th-place finish on Sunday night at EchoPark Speedway.
41 Cole Custer:
Starting 33rd in his 10th NASCAR Cup Series appearance at EchoPark Speedway, Cole Custer methodically worked his way through the field in the No. 41 Sysco/RaceTrac Chevrolet. Battling a tight-handling race car during the opening green-flag run, Custer was able to gain five positions to finish Stage One in 28th.
After pitting under the stage caution, Custer restarted 24th before settling into the top 30 during another lengthy green-flag run. A caution for lightning on lap 109 brought the race to a halt, leading to a more than three-hour red-flag delay. With the rubber washed off the track from the rain, it left No. 41 Sysco/RaceTrac Chevrolet loose, and Custer finished Stage Two in 31st.
The No. 41 team kept working on the car throughout the final stage, making handling adjustments under caution to improve the balance. A series of late cautions set up an overtime finish, where Custer capitalized by gaining eight positions in his No. 41 Sysco/RaceTrac Chevrolet over the closing laps to finish 17th. The result marked his strongest Cup Series performance at the track since 2022.
“It was a hard-fought day, and I feel like we got the car better throughout the race. We had a good restart there at the end and were able to pick up a lot of spots,” Custer said. “It was an interesting Atlanta race, and different than a lot of other ones with a lot of handling involved. A big thank you to Sysco and everyone at Haas Factory Team.”
Up Next: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway next Sunday, July 19th, with race coverage on TNT set for 7 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.