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Gene Haas will remain a presence in NASCAR in 2025 but with a different outlook.
Haas Factory Team, led by Haas, will operate one of Stewart-Haas Racing‘s Cup Series charters next season as the current iteration of the four-car program closes its doors upon the conclusion of the 2024 campaign. The team will additionally operate a two-car team in the Xfinity Series.
“My commitment to motorsports hasn‘t changed, just the scope of my involvement,” Haas said in a release. “Operating a four-car Cup Series team has become too arduous but, at the same time, I still need a platform to promote Haas Automation and grow HaasTooling.com.
“Maintaining my presence in Cup allows Haas Automation to compete at NASCAR‘s highest level, which is important to our customers and distributors. The Xfinity Series program provides a full weekend experience for our guests, and it delivers added depth and scale to our overall operation.”
MORE: SHR to close after 2024 season
Haas has owned or co-owned teams at NASCAR‘s highest level since 2002 with the introduction of Haas CNC Racing, then a part-time team that entered three races with future NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Jack Sprague.
In 2008, Haas and another Hall-of-Famer Tony Stewart joined to form Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2009 Cup Series season, a two-car team with Stewart and 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman behind the wheel.
The team immediately found success with Stewart in the 2009 NASCAR All-Star Race and enjoyed its first points-paying victory weeks later at Pocono Raceway. Stewart went on to win his third Cup Series championship in 2011, becoming the first driver to win the title as a team co-owner since Alan Kulwicki in 1992.
In all, Stewart-Haas Racing has collected 69 Cup Series wins and two Cup championships in its 16 seasons to date. Since joining the Xfinity Series, in 2017, the team has accumulated 22 series victories and won the championship in 2023 with Cole Custer.
According to the press release, Joe Custer will be the president of Haas Factory Team, which will operate out of the existing Stewart-Haas facility in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Drivers and team partners will be announced in the lead-up to the 2025 NASCAR season.
SHR‘s current Cup driver roster includes Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, Ryan Preece and Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Josh Berry. In the Xfinity Series, Custer pilots the No. 00 Ford while Riley Herbst drives the No. 98 Ford.