Creed, Mayer Sign with Haas Factory Team for 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Season
The driver lineup for the Haas Factory Team is officially filled for the 2025 NASCAR season as the organization announced the addition of Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer to its NASCAR Xfinity Series stable on Saturday morning at Michigan International Speedway. Creed, who will come from Joe Gibbs Racing, and Mayer from JR Motorsports, signed multiyear agreements to join the Haas team.
Creed will pilot the No. 00 Ford Mustang Dark Horse while Mayer will drive the renumbered No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
The move positions Haas Factory Team, which is rising from the ashes of the shuttering Stewart-Haas Racing team, to pick up where it left off in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next season.
"We've developed a strong and consistent Xfinity Series program at Stewart-Haas that wins races and championships. In 2025, that program will operate as Haas Factory Team. The name is changing, but our commitment to winning remains the same," said Joe Custer, Haas Factory Team president. "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."
The 26-year-old Creed, who won eight races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series where he was the 2020 series champion, has been knocking on the door to victory lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series but has yet to bust through. The 10-time second-place finisher in the NASCAR Xfinity Series says it was Cole Custer helped him decide to make the leap of faith.
"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."
While Creed's departure from Joe Gibbs Racing makes sense as the native of Alpine, California has yet to nab his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win, Mayer's move from JR Motorsports comes as a bit of a surprise as the 21-year-old has amassed six wins over his last 34 starts in the series, and he emerged as a Championship 4 contender in the series a year ago. Mayer says the move, for him, is designed to allow him to ready himself for the NASCAR Cup Series, whenever that opportunity comes to fruition.
"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."
Creed and Mayer will now have 13 races to close out the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign as they ready themselves for a new home, Haas Factory Team, in 2025.
The finalization of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series lineup for Haas Factory Team means that Riley Herbst, SHR's current driver of the No. 98 entry in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will move to a new team next season. Herbst is a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series race winner, including a stirring win in the Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the series' most recent event.
Recently, Herbst has been rumored as a front-runner for a potential third 23XI Racing NASCAR Cup Series ride if the team is able to acquire an additional charter for the 2025 season.
On May 28, Stewart-Haas Racing co-owners Gene Haas and Tony Stewart ended months of speculation as they officially revealed that SHR would close its doors at season's end. However, on June 20, Gene Haas announced that he would retain one of Stewart-Haas Racing's four NASCAR Cup Series team charters to field his own Haas Factory Team entry and that he would maintain a two-car NASCAR Xfinity Series program with his team.
Along with Creed and Mayer in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Haas Factory Team announced in July that it will field the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series with Custer behind the wheel next season. It's been a busy week for the Haas team as on Thursday it announced Aaron Kramer, currently the lead engineer on Chris Buescher's No. 17 RFK Racing team, as the crew chief for Custer and the Cup team in 2025.
TOBY CHRISTIE