Cole Custer Finishes 28th in NASCAR Cup Series Return to North Wilkesboro
By Haas factory Team
NORTH WILKESBORO, NC (July 19, 2026) – In the first points-paying Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996, Cole Custer battled across all 450 laps on Sunday night to bring the No. 41 Sysco/The Smoke Pit Chevrolet home in 28th place.
41 Cole Custer
Cole Custer rolled off 20th at the 0.625-mile track in his second ever Cup Series start at North Wilkesboro after qualifying was washed out by rain. The No. 41 Sysco/The Smoke Pit Chevrolet quickly worked its way into 17th during the opening green-flag run before a caution on lap 40 brought Custer to pit road. Unable to make up ground on the ensuing lap-49 restart, Custer fell back through the field and crossed the line 33rd at the end of Stage One.
During the stage caution, Custer returned to pit road while also taking a brief break after his cooling suit failed midway through the opening stage. Stage Two saw a long green-flag run, with the No. 41 Sysco/The Smoke Pit Chevrolet falling one lap down before pit strategy came into play. A caution flew before Custer made his scheduled stop, allowing him to pit under yellow just one lap down. Despite the timely break, Custer was shuffled back through lapped traffic and finished Stage Two in 32nd.
A wave-around before the final stage gained Custer a lap back, but without another caution, he was forced to pit under green on lap 299. Custer continued to battle through traffic over the long closing run in his No. 41 Sysco/The Smoke Pit Chevrolet and crossed the line in 28th place on Sunday night.
Up Next: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Sunday, July 26th, with race coverage on TNT set for 2 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.