Cole Custer Caps Cup Series Run at Charlotte with 27th-Place Finish.
By Haas Factory Team
CONCORD, NC (October 11, 2026) –
Cole Custer and the No. 41 team made multiple handling adjustments to the Sysco/Carolina Ale House Chevrolet throughout Sunday afternoon’s race at Charlotte, battling a tight-handling car to finish 27th.
41 Cole Custer
Rain from Hurricane Isaias forced the cancellation of practice and qualifying Saturday, leaving Cole Custer to start 30th after the field was set by the metric. Battling a tight-handling No. 41 Sysco/Carolina Ale House Chevrolet, Custer made his first adjustments at the lap 35 competition caution. The team continued working to improve the handling before a late multicar incident cut Stage One short, with Custer finishing 27th.
Custer used the stage break to make further adjustments to free up his No. 41 Sysco/Carolina Ale House Chevrolet. A mid-stage caution in Stage Two provided another opportunity to address the handling, and Custer returned to the track in 25th. He was able to gain one position before the end of the stage to finish 24th.
Starting the final stage inside the top 20, Custer continued to manage the car's handling as the race progressed. A caution on lap 205 set up a late restart, but the No. 41 Sysco/Carolina Ale House Chevrolet lost ground and fell to 30th. However, Custer settled in and recovered in the closing laps, moving back to 27th by the checkered flag.
“That was a hard-fought day. We had some speed at times, but we just couldn’t nail the short-run speed all day. That last run didn’t pan out on the restart, but I feel like we had some bright spots on the day,” Custer said. “It was nice having Sysco and Carolina Ale House on the car, and we’ll move on to Phoenix and hopefully have a solid run there.”
Up Next:
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway next Sunday, October 18th, 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.