Gene Haas retains charter, will still have a presence in NASCAR
Gene Haas.
Gene Haas isn't done with NASCAR quite yet.
The 71-year-old announced on Thursday that he will retain one NASCAR Cup Series charter, after the team he co-owned, Stewart-Haas Racing, announced it would shut down and sell all four charters at the conclusion of the 2024 season.
According to Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass, the new Haas Factory Team will run one Cup Series operation and remain a two-car Xfinity Series program, keeping Stewart-Haas' two entries in NASCAR's second-tier series.
With one charter already known to be going to Front Row Motorsports, this leaves just two charters left on the market for 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing, Richard Childress Racing or any other Cup Series team to possibly purchase.
While many rumors had flown regarding where SHR's third and fourth charters would end up, the possibility of Haas keeping one Cup Series charter for himself wasn't seen as a legitimate possibility by most fans. In hindsight, however, it makes sense.
Since Cole Custer's rookie season in the Cup Series in 2020, the No. 41 car for Stewart-Haas has often been seen with Haas' logos plastered on the car, meaning the fourth of SHR's four cars was likely funded entirely by Haas himself.
It was also announced Thursday that Joe Custer, father of the aforementioned Cole Custer, would run the operation. Cole Custer, the current Xfinity Series points leader and defending Xfinity Series champion, presumably becomes the favorite to be the driver for the new Haas team. If chosen to pilot the car, it'd be Custer's first full-time season of Cup Series competition since 2022. After three years of mediocre results and just one win, Custer was relegated to the Xfinity Series for 2023, but now, he seemingly has a great opportunity to compete at the top level of NASCAR once more.
The new Haas team will operate out of the building that Stewart-Haas Racing currently uses. According to Pockrass, no drivers, sponsors or potential manufacturers were named the press release by Haas.
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