Cole Custer Bio
Cole Matthew Custer (born January 23, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Haas Factory Team, and he also runs part-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The son of longtime motorsports executive Joe Custer, he is a two-time champion at the NASCAR national level and one of the youngest winners in series history.
Custer first gained attention as a teenage prodigy in the NASCAR Truck Series before moving to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he developed into a championship contender. He captured the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series title, added the 2024 Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship, and earned the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year award.
Early Life and Background
Cole Custer was born on January 23, 1998, in Ladera Ranch, California. He grew up in the same Orange County community and attended Ladera Ranch Middle School before continuing his education at Tesoro High School. His father, Joe Custer, has held senior leadership roles in major racing organizations and currently serves as the team president of Haas Factory Team, giving Cole direct exposure to professional motorsports from a young age.
Coming from a family rooted in the sport, Custer was around race shops and short tracks throughout his childhood. The younger Custer turned laps well before he was old enough to drive on public roads, and the family settled into a routine of weekends at regional circuits that introduced him to stock car competition.
His earliest racing memories go back to quarter midgets at the age of four. By his early teens, he had advanced through the USAC youth ranks and, in 2011, won the USAC National Focus Young Guns Championship, signaling he was ready for bigger cars.
Path to NASCAR
Custer moved into full-bodied stock cars in 2012 and won ten late-model races, earning Rookie of the Year honors along the way. The success opened the door to NASCAR’s development ladder in 2013, when he joined Ken Schrader Racing for his K&N Pro Series East debut at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Later that same season, Custer won at Iowa Speedway from the pole and led every lap, becoming the youngest race winner in K&N Pro Series history at 15 years, 6 months, and 10 days. He followed that with a victory from the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and finished eighth in the standings. In 2014, he opened the K&N Pro Series West schedule with a win at Phoenix International Raceway, reinforcing his standing as one of NASCAR’s most promising young talents.
Cole Custer Career
Early Career (2013–2014)
Custer’s first major NASCAR exposure came in the ARCA Menards Series East and West, where he picked up three wins and developed a reputation for strong qualifying speed. His development program culminated in 2014 when he joined Haas Racing Development for a nine-race Camping World Truck Series schedule.
He set a track record in qualifying at Gateway Motorsports Park and, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2014, won the UNOH 175 from the pole. The victory made him the youngest winner in the history of NASCAR’s national touring series at 16 years, 7 months, and 28 days, a record that still stands.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Breakthrough (2014–2016)
Custer continued in the Truck Series with JR Motorsports in 2015, picking up a win at Gateway Motorsports Park. When he turned 18 in 2016, JR Motorsports gave him a full-time seat in the No. 00 truck, and he finished the year 10th in the standings while contending for Rookie of the Year.
Across his Truck Series career, Custer posted 2 wins, 24 top-ten finishes, and 5 poles. His Gateway track-record qualifying lap also made him the youngest pole winner in NASCAR history, a milestone that highlighted his raw speed even before his first victory.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Breakthrough (2016–2022)
Custer made his Xfinity Series debut in 2016 at Richmond International Raceway for JR Motorsports. After Stewart-Haas Racing announced his promotion, he ran the full 2017 schedule and reached the Xfinity playoffs in his first full year. He capped that season with his first Xfinity win at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading every lap of the final stage.
He added a second win at Texas in 2018 and became a consistent championship threat in 2019, capturing victories at Fontana, Richmond, Pocono, Chicago, Kentucky, and Dover. He also inherited a win at Darlington after Denny Hamlin’s car failed post-race inspection. He finished second in the final Xfinity standings that year.
During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Custer split his time between the Cup Series and select Xfinity starts with SS-Green Light Racing. In 2022, he won at Auto Club Speedway for SS-Green Light Racing, giving that team its first Xfinity victory. Across his full-time Xfinity career through 2024, Custer accumulated 15 wins, 121 top-ten finishes, and 21 poles.
NASCAR Cup Series Debut (2018–2022)
Custer made his Cup Series debut in 2018 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Rick Ware Racing, finishing 25th in the Pennzoil 400. After running additional Cup starts in 2018 and 2019, Stewart-Haas Racing confirmed in November 2019 that he would take over the No. 41 Ford for the 2020 season.
The move paid off quickly. On July 12, 2020, Custer won the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, passing Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Ryan Blaney on the final lap to become the first rookie to win a Cup race since Chris Buescher in 2016. The victory locked him into the Cup playoffs and later earned him the 2020 Sunoco Rookie of the Year award.
Custer stayed with Stewart-Haas Racing through 2022 but missed the playoffs in 2021. After the Charlotte Roval controversy in October 2022, in which he was fined for intentionally slowing to help teammate Chase Briscoe, the team announced Ryan Preece would replace him in the No. 41 for 2023.
2023–2024 Xfinity Championship Era
Custer returned to the Xfinity Series in 2023, driving the No. 00 for Stewart-Haas Racing. He picked up wins at Portland and a rain-shortened Chicago street race, where he led every lap, and advanced to the Championship 4. On November 4, 2023, he clinched the Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway by holding off Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek on an overtime restart.
In 2024, Custer added wins at Pocono and Bristol and secured the Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship. He reached the Championship 4 again, although he did not win during the playoffs. After Stewart-Haas Racing announced in May 2024 that it would close its NASCAR operations, Custer and the team prepared for a major transition.
Haas Factory Team Era (2025–Present)
On July 20, 2024, Custer announced he would return to the Cup Series in 2025, driving the No. 41 for Haas Factory Team, the organization that absorbed Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cup program. He opened the 2025 Cup season with a 21st-place run at the Daytona 500.
His top results through the 2025 campaign included eighth at Mexico City, fourth at the summer Daytona race, and fifth at the fall Talladega event. By late in the year he was still searching for his second career Cup victory while adapting to the new team structure.
Driving Style and Strengths
Custer is known for qualifying speed and short-run pace, traits that have produced 21 Xfinity poles and quick early-race charges. He has also shown late-race aggression, particularly in the 2020 Quaker State 400 and the 2023 Phoenix finale, where restarts became his strongest moments. His crew chief partnerships, including Jonathan Toney in 2023, have leaned on aggressive pit calls and clean pit work to maximize his natural speed.
Notable Races and Milestones
Key signature moments include his 2014 UNOH 175 victory at New Hampshire, which made him the youngest national-series winner in NASCAR history. The 2020 Quaker State 400 at Kentucky, the 2023 Phoenix Xfinity title clincher, and his 2019 Darlington win awarded after post-race inspection all stand out as defining chapters of his career.
Cole Custer Career Wins
Cole Custer has built a versatile résumé with victories across the Truck, Xfinity, Cup, ARCA, and K&N Pro Series. His totals include 2 Truck Series wins, 15 Xfinity Series wins, 1 Cup Series win, 1 ARCA Menards Series win, 3 ARCA East wins, and 1 ARCA West win, along with the 2023 Xfinity Series Championship and the 2024 Xfinity Regular Season Championship.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Highlights
Custer’s first Xfinity win came in the 2017 Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he led the most laps and swept both stages. He added his most recent Xfinity victory at the 2024 Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, one of two wins that helped him secure the 2024 Regular Season Championship.
He captured the 2023 Xfinity Series title at Phoenix Raceway by holding off Justin Allgaier and John Hunter Nemechek on an overtime restart. His 15 career Xfinity wins place him among the most successful drivers of his generation in the series.
Other Wins & Performances
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Custer’s two wins came at New Hampshire in 2014 and Gateway in 2015, the former making him the youngest national-series winner in NASCAR history. He also earned a single ARCA Menards Series win at Pocono in 2015, three ARCA East victories from 2013 to 2014, and one ARCA West win at Phoenix in 2014, all by his late teens.
| Series | Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Cup Series | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (Xfinity) Series | 15 | 121 | 21 |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | 2 | 24 | 5 |
| ARCA Menards Series East | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| ARCA Menards Series West | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| ARCA Menards Series | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Cole Custer Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Cole Custer is the son of Joe Custer, a veteran motorsports executive who serves as team president of Haas Factory Team and as chief operating officer of Haas F1 Team. The Haas family’s sponsorship through Haas Automation has been a constant in Cole’s career, and Joe’s leadership role has placed him at the center of major NASCAR decisions.
Growing up in that environment gave Cole direct access to factory-level race operations and a clear path into stock car racing. The combination of family connections and on-track results helped him move from quarter midgets to national touring series by his mid-teens.
Personal Life
Custer is married to Kari Custer. The couple welcomed a son in July 2024, marking another major life change as Cole returned to the Cup Series full-time in 2025. The family has continued to live in the United States while Cole balances his racing schedule across multiple NASCAR series.
2025 Season Performance
Custer’s 2025 season marks his return to the NASCAR Cup Series with Haas Factory Team in the No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 after two seasons focused on the Xfinity Series. His year opened at the 2025 Daytona 500, where he finished 21st, and steady improvement followed as the team built chemistry.
His top results included eighth at Mexico City, fourth at the summer Daytona race, and fifth at the fall Talladega event. Outside the Cup Series, he continued to make select O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts for SS-Green Light Racing with BRK Racing, adding experience that complements his Cup program.
Looking ahead, Custer and Haas Factory Team are focused on improving consistency and securing his second career Cup victory. With full-season backing and the resources of the Haas organization, expectations remain high for stronger qualifying runs and playoff contention in the seasons to come.
