Cole Custer Earns Season-Best Fifth-Place Finish at Talladega.
By Haas Factory Team
TALLADEGA, AL (October 25, 2026) – Cole Custer capitalized on an overtime restart to charge to a fifth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, earning Haas Factory Team’s best result of the season and Custer’s first top-five finish since last season’s fall Talladega race.
41 Cole Custer:
Starting 20th at Talladega, Cole Custer quickly found momentum in the top lane during Stage One, climbing to 15th as the field settled into single-file formation. As the pack spread back out, the No. 41 Sysco/Eggs Up Grill Chevrolet worked its way to sixth before Custer moved to the bottom lane and made his first pit stop on lap 50 for fuel. Rejoining a pack of Chevrolet drivers, Custer worked to reconnect with the field but ultimately finished the stage in 22nd.
Custer made some handling adjustments under the stage caution but dropped to 27th in his No. 41 Sysco/Eggs Up Grill Chevrolet after serving a penalty. He spent much of Stage Two conserving fuel near the back of the pack before a late caution with 12 laps remaining set up a restart with under five laps to go. Restarting 18th, Custer continued to manage his fuel and crossed the line in 20th to close out the second stage.
Staying out under the stage caution, Custer lined up seventh to begin Stage Three and quickly advanced to second in the No. 41 Sysco/Eggs Up Grill Chevrolet. As the top lane lost momentum, he slipped outside the top 10 and struggled to stay connected with the lead pack. Custer remained just outside the top 10 with less than 20 laps remaining before narrowly avoiding a major incident on lap 183. After a lengthy red flag for cleanup, he restarted 10th and navigated an overtime run, receiving a push from Kyle Larson as the leaders faced fuel concerns. Custer capitalized to charge to a fifth-place finish, earning his best result of the season and his first top-five finish since the fall Talladega race in 2025.
“There were some crazy runs at the end. I thought we had a shot at third or fourth, and I tried to push the No. 24 hoping it would open up, but the No. 5 came out of nowhere,” Custer said. “It was awesome to get a top-five finish for everyone at Haas Factory Team. They’ve worked so hard this year, and I’m thankful to Sysco and Eggs Up Grill for their support. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going and continue executing.”
Up Next:
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway next Sunday, November 1st, with race coverage on NBC 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.