Haas Factory Team names Mayer and Creed to Xfinity lineup
BROOKLYN, Mich. – Haas Factory Team has signed Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer to wheel its two NASCAR Xfinity Series entries beginning in 2025.
The organization announced Saturday that each driver signed a multi-year agreement with HFT.
Creed will take over the No. 00 Ford from Cole Custer. Custer is going to the NASCAR Cup Series to drive the No. 41 HFT Ford, effectively replacing Ryan Preece. Preece currently drives the car under the Stewart-Haas Racing banner.
Mayer will drive the No. 41 Ford in the Xfinity Series. The No. 41 NXS team is the current No. 98 SHR team that has Riley Herbst as their driver.
With this announcement, it’s official that neither Herbst or Preece, nor Hailie Deegan, who early rumors favored for one of the HFT rides, will be a part of the organization. They are set for 2025 with signing Creed and Mayer.
“Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer have won championships on their way to the Xfinity Series and they’re both hungry to win races and compete for an Xfinity Series title. They bring significant experience and a shared desire to win. Having them a part of Haas Factory Team allows us to operate at a high level and collect trophies,” said Joe Custer, president of Haas Factory Team.
Creed, 26, won the 2020 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. He is also an eight-time race winner in the Truck Series.
Creed comes to HFT by way of Joe Gibbs Racing. He has been competing full-time in the Xfinity Series since 2022. In that time, he has earned 10 second-place finishes, most recently in June at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. He finished seventh in the championship last year with Richard Childress Racing.
“I’ve won in every division I’ve raced in. And I feel like I’ve earned my place in the Xfinity Series, but that’s not enough. I want to win in the Xfinity Series,” Creed said. “I watched what Cole Custer did last year on his way to the Xfinity Series championship. And when I talked with him about the setup of the organization, everything he said resonated with me. I feel like Haas Factory Team is a place where I can succeed, and where Sam and I can work together to win races and be championship contenders.”
Mayer is a six-time Xfinity Series race winner who made the Championship 4 last year. The Wisconsin native scored back-to-back ARCA Menards Series East championships in 2019-2020. He joined the Xfinity Series part-time in 2021 and full-time in 2022. He has been with JR Motorsports ever since then.
“The Xfinity Series is a really great place to learn and grow and get yourself ready for the NASCAR Cup Series,” Mayer said. “Cup is my ultimate goal, and to really push myself to become the kind of driver who can succeed in Cup, I needed to get out of my comfort zone, challenge myself, and hone my race skills so that when that Cup moment comes, I’m ready. The Haas team got Cole Custer ready for his moment and it’s a place that will help get me and Sheldon ready for our moments.”
Mayer is locked into the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs with wins at Texas Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway. Creed has a 69-point cushion to the cutline with six regular-season races left.
Categories
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com