Cole Custer Earns Eighth-Place Finish in Rain-Shortened O’Reilly Series Race at Charlotte.

CONCORD, NC (May 23, 2026) – Cole Custer led Haas Factory Team with an eighth-place finish in the O’Reilly Series after multiple rain delays, while teammates Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer were both involved in Stage Two incidents that ended their nights early.

0 Cole Custer

In his third O’Reilly Series start of the season, Cole Custer immediately moved forward in the No. 0 Sysco Chevrolet, charging into the top 20 by the competition caution on lap 25. Despite losing a couple spots on pit road before a rain delay halted the race, Custer continued his progress and finished Stage One in 18th, making up 11 positions in the opening segment.

Custer restarted 19th and used strong short-run speed to charge into the top 15 through a pair of early cautions in Stage Two. After fluid in turn one triggered a caution that collected multiple cars, Custer advanced into the top 10 and climbed as high as eighth with 10 laps remaining in the stage. As mist returned, the final laps were run under caution, officially ending the race with Custer credited with an eighth-place finish.

00 Sheldon Creed

Sheldon Creed fired off 12th in the No. 00 Road Ranger Chevrolet but battled handling issues throughout Stage One. After dealing with a free car early and tightness in the center later in the run, Creed stayed inside the top 10 and gained two spots under caution before rain brought out a red flag. He held position over a sprint to the stage end, finishing 10th and earning a crucial stage point.

He restarted 12th to begin Stage Two and hovered around the top 10 through a pair of early cautions. After climbing to ninth, Creed’s run came to an end when fluid on the track in turn one sent the No. 00 Road Ranger Chevrolet hard into the wall. Despite going to the garage to attempt to fix the damage, Creed’s day ended prematurely on lap 73.

“I didn’t see the fluid and didn’t really know it was there, so when I got there it just sent me straight into the wall. I saw a couple others in front of me hit the wall and just didn’t have enough time to react,” Creed said. “It’s unfortunate for our team because I thought our Road Ranger Chevrolet was really good. Thank you to everyone back at Haas Factory Team for bringing me another fast car.”

41 Sam Mayer

Former pole winner Sam Mayer started third at Charlotte and grabbed the lead from Justin Allgaier on the opening restart before an early caution. After fading back with a tight-handling No. 41 Char Broil Chevrolet, Mayer’s team recovered with a strong pit stop and restart following a lengthy rain delay. Mayer worked his way back into the top five and finished Stage One in fifth, earning six stage points.

Following a quick caution to open Stage Two, Mayer wasted little time charging back into the top five. However, on lap 61, the No. 41 Char-Broil Chevrolet broke loose in the middle of a three-wide battle and slammed the wall in turn one. The damage proved too severe to continue, ending Mayer’s night early despite leading 12 laps.

“I tried to save it, but I hit the traction compound just right and it sent me right into the wall. There just wasn’t enough room and things just happened a little too fast there in turn one,” Mayer said. “Thank you to everyone at Char Broil for riding with me on the hood this weekend, and everyone back at the shop at Haas Factory Team for bringing me a fast Chevrolet.”

Up Next

The NASCAR O’Reilly Series heads to Nashville Superspeedway next Saturday, May 30th, with race coverage on the CW set for 7:30 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.