Custer Fights Through Bristol Cup Series Race to Finish 26th.
By Haas Factory Team
BRISTOL, TN (September 19, 2026) – Cole Custer battled through handling issues and a challenging race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night to bring the No. 41 Texas A&M Chevrolet home 26th.
41 Cole Custer:
Coming off an 11th-place finish at St. Louis, Cole Custer took advantage of Friday’s canceled qualifying session and rolled off 17th at Bristol. The No. 41 Texas A&M Chevrolet held inside the top 15 through the opening 40 laps before the competition caution gave Custer an opportunity to make a pit stop. With eight cars staying out, Custer restarted 22nd but began to fall back as a tight-handling Chevrolet dropped to 25th. A lap 94 caution provided another chance to make adjustments, but a loose-tire penalty sent Custer to the rear of the field. Despite further changes, the car became loose over the short run to the end of Stage One, leaving Custer 31st.
Custer made additional adjustments during the stage break and restarted 31st, but the No. 41 Texas A&M Chevrolet struggled to make up ground during the ensuing long green-flag run. A caution with two laps remaining in Stage Two allowed Custer to take the wave-around and return to the lead lap, but he gradually fell three laps down before making his lone green-flag pit stop on lap 322. Custer cycled back onto the track six laps behind the leaders as the No. 41 team continued to work on the car.
A lap 394 caution gave Custer another wave-around opportunity, and a flurry of cautions in the closing laps provided additional opportunities to gain track position, allowing Custer to climb to 26th in his No. 41 Texas A&M Chevrolet by the finish.
“Everyone fought hard tonight, but this just is not the place for us this year. We didn’t have the car the way we wanted it tonight, but everyone fought really hard,” Custer said. “Thank you to everyone at Haas Factory Team for their hard work, and Texas A&M for riding with me for all 500 laps tonight.”
Up Next:
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway next Sunday, September 27th, 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.