Cole Custer Caps Strong Michigan Weekend with Season-Best 12th-Place Finish.
BROOKLYN, MI (June 7, 2026) – Cole Custer closed out one of the No. 41 team’s strongest races of the season at Michigan International Speedway with a season-best 12th-place finish on Sunday afternoon.
41 Cole Custer
Cole Custer kicked off the weekend with his best qualifying effort of the calendar year on Saturday, starting 15th after posting a lap of 37.205 seconds. Debuting Air Lift for the first time in 2026, Custer looked to set the tone early after four cars ahead of him went to the rear but battled a tight-handling Chevrolet through the opening stage. Following a pair of cautions in the first 10 laps, Custer battled in the opening stage, settling into the top 20 where he would cross the line to end Stage One.
Custer restarted Stage Two from 25th after a wedge adjustment, and maintained position through the opening run before a caution on lap 65 provided an opportunity for the team to make more changes. After navigating multiple restarts, Custer settled into a lengthy green-flag run and began finding more speed in the No. 41 Air Lift Chevrolet. While continuing to battle changing handling conditions, he found long-run speed and worked his way forward and to close the second stage in 23rd place.
A four-tire stop and a final set of adjustments set the stage for Custer's strongest run of the day in the final segment. After a caution and red flag for barrier repairs following an incident involving Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell, Custer took the restart from 12th and quickly found speed. During the longest green-flag run of the stage, he powered past Ross Chastain and William Byron while holding firm inside the top 15. Custer once again shined in the closing laps and crossed the line in 12th, securing his best finish of the season in his Air Lift Chevrolet.
“Everyone on this team has worked incredibly hard this year, so it's great to finally see some results that reflect that effort,” Custer said. “We've brought solid speed to the track, and there are a lot of positives we can build on from the last few weeks. Thank you everyone at Haas Factory Team and Air Lift for their hard work this weekend.”
Up Next: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway next Sunday, June 14th, with race coverage on Prime 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.