Cole Custer will return to the Cup Series at the start of the 2025 season, taking control of the No. 41 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse for the newly formed Haas Factory Team. However, that leaves his Xfinity Series seat open for a new driver, and there are a few current racers who would fit the bill.
A report from Beyond The Flag lays out a handful of drivers who would do well behind the wheel of Custer’s current ride, the No. 00 Mustang in the Xfinity Series. Interestingly, Ryan Preece looks good to drop back to Xfinity, meaning that he and Custer could essentially switch places. As a reminder, after Custer stepped away No. 41 Mustang to take a shot at the Xfinity Series again, Preece was named as his replacement. However, Preece is the only Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver who doesn’t have his plans for 2025 nailed down after SHR shuts its doors, meaning it would be easy for him to stay within the organization and work on developing his talent in Xfinity once more.
Harrison Burton is another current Cup Series driver without a ride in 2025. Burton currently drives the No. 21 Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing, but is losing his ride to Josh Berry in 2025. The No. 00 NASCAR Ford in the Haas Xfinity program would be a good landing place for him. Like Preece, Burton could stand to develop his talent in the Xfinity division for a few more years before potentially moving back up to Cup.
Finally, Hailie Deegan could be a good match for the No. 00 Xfinity team. She spent the first half of the 2024 racing season driving for AM Racing in the No. 15 Mustang, but her lackluster performance prompted the organization to cut her loose early. The No. 00 NASCAR Ford backed by Haas could be a great place for her to work on turning her career around, and stay with The Blue Oval while she’s at it.
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Comments
I’m going with Riley Herbst.
Why would he leave the 98? Haas has already said they would be running two Xfinity teams in 2025.
well I think Deegan isn’t a possibility considering she was removed from her team because she wasn’t getting good results
give the ride to Hailie Deegan, she will bring a lot of excitement and great looks for potential sponsors, she is a fantastic talent
Well no she’s not, she got kicked off her team because her performance didn’t measure up and she wasn’t bringing in sponsor dollars