Ford Fans Panic as Rumors Link Longtime NASCAR Owner to Chevy

“We did lean on some Cup resources for engineering, design…just not the depth.” Haas Factory Team executive Joe Custer’s words at the start of 2025 marked a significant shift for the NASCAR team. In 2024, Tony Stewart announced that his 16-year-old stellar Cup Series team, Stewart-Haas Racing, would shutter. This massive upheaval sent ripples across the NASCAR garage, considering SHR’s legacy. Now, SHR’s successor is also setting off ripples with a novel NASCAR rumor.

Gene Haas fielded two Xfinity Series teams and one Cup Series team for his HFT enterprise. Cole Custer, an Xfinity star, drove the No. 41 Ford, with not much success as yet. On the other hand, his Xfinity teammates have been in a far better place. But now, HFT is shifting its strategy again, apparently placing more emphasis on its Cup program due to a rumored change.

NASCAR rumor: Haas envisages another shift

Gene Haas first forayed into the NASCAR Cup Series as Haas CNC Racing in 2002. Then in 2009, shifted into a combination of efforts with Tony Stewart, as the duo formed Stewart-Haas Racing. 2 championships and 80 wins later, the team folded in 2024, and Haas shifted again to a new team, HFT. However, he has never shifted his OEM – something that seems imminent now. In 2025, HFT entered into a technical alliance with RFK Racing, a top-notch Ford organization in the Cup Series. Joe Custer had enthusiastically said last year, “Along with Ford as a partner, we’re lacking no resources going into next year. People-wise, human capital…we’ve got the relationship, we’ve got the OEM.”

According to a NASCAR rumor, however, the same OEM might not be there for long. Cole Custer has been on a losing streak on HFT’s Cup side, catching only 1 top five and 2 top tens. In last weekend’s Southern 500 race in Darlington, Custer registered a lackluster 24th-place finish after struggling with tight-handling throughout the race. His misfortune may be the reason behind the rumor. In a recent episode of ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’, Freddie Kraft shared his insider information: “I heard some interesting stuff…SHR is potentially going to merge with Legacy and some sort. I heard that deal’s out the window, with SHR potentially going to Chevy…whatever they are, Haas Factory Team.”

This would mark a seismic shift in terms of OEM allegiance for Gene Haas. In his tenure with Ford, he had achieved massive success – although that was before the Next-Gen era. Teams now use single-source suppliers rather than spending millions engineering their own parts and pieces, an advantage that bigger organizations had in the past. The increased emphasis on software development, sim, and a different set of tools in the toolbox compelled Haas to rely on RFK Racing. Joe Custer said so in 2024: “We’re leaning on Brad (Keselowski) and his group at RFK to add to what our knowledge base is and help us evolve. Strategically, there’s resources that we can offer that can make their program stronger and vice versa.” But now, the days of this association is apparently limited.

As this NASCAR rumor swirls around the Haas Factory Team, fans are getting excited. Notably, this excitement is on the negative side.

NASCAR fans dissect this sudden shift

Granted, Haas Factory Team was not faring well in the Cup Series. But the Ford team’s segment in the Xfinity Series has been excelling. Sam Mayer, who shifted from JR Motorsports and Chevrolet, has been at the top of the championship conversation. His dazzling victory at Iowa Speedway, 12 top fives, and 15 top tens enthralled fans. Hence, somebody lamented about the NASCAR rumor: “Bye, bye Ford in the Xfinity Series.” Another fan also could not believe that Mayer’s achievements missed Haas’ gaze. So, they rooted out another explanation for the rumored OEM shift: “My guess would be Haas has some Chevy ties. His team was Chevy before he went to prison and sold part of it to Stewart. And it always seemed like Stewart was the one behind the switch to Ford.”

According to Freddie Kraft’s narrative, Gene Haas apparently wanted to go with Toyota first. But that is not an option anymore, maybe due to Legacy Motor Club’s ongoing lawsuit troubles. Either way, it would leave Ford in a bad state for the Xfinity Series. One fan wrote, “Assuming their xfinity team also changes to Chevy, that leaves very few Fords in the xfinity series for next season.” Somebody else opined that Brad Keselowski might intervene before this massive blow to his OEM. He might snatch Haas’ NASCAR enterprise: “RFK gonna buy up their xfinity team you watch.”

Others were not really bothered, considering HFT’s lackluster performance in the Cup Series. Cole Custer’s long string of finishes outside the top 30, coupled with 4 DNFs, is hardly encouraging. So a fan wrote sarcastically: “so instead of running 29th as a blue oval every week they’ll run 29th as a part of the bow tie brigade.”

Clearly, there seems to be a state of upheaval inside HFT’s fold. We can only wait and see if the NASCAR rumor turns into reality.

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