In their second season of NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series competition, following the shutdown of Stewart-Haas Racing, Gene Haas' Haas Factory Team find themselves in the thick of the championship fight.
Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer joined the team ahead of the 2025 season, and both remained with the team in 2026 after the manufacturer switch from Ford to Chevrolet.
Creed earned the first victory of his O'Reilly Series career at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) during the regular season en route to a third place finish in the regular season standings, and he won two of the first three races of the postseason at Darlington Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway to take the championship lead.
Mayer didn't have as strong of a regular season, finishing 10th in the standings, but has moved up to sixth with a strong start to the postseason himself.
Haas Factory Team loses both drivers for 2027 season
It had already been announced that Mayer would be leaving Haas Factory Team to rejoin JR Motorsports, where he competed from 2022 to 2024, won seven races, and finished as high as third place in the standings. He is set to return to the No. 1 Chevrolet, with Carson Kvapil set to move to the No. 8 Chevrolet amid Sammy Smith's departure.
Now it has been confirmed that Creed is out as well. In a surprising twist to silly season, he has announced that he plans to join Toyota's Sam Hunt Racing on a multi-year deal, replacing Dean Thompson behind the wheel of the No. 26 Toyota. Creed has said that the new deal is set to mark the first time he is salaried as a race car driver.
Sam Hunt Racing, the only Toyota team in the series other than Joe Gibbs Racing, have yet to announce their plans for the No. 24 Toyota. Harrison Burton currently drives that entry.
The team have competed full-time in the O'Reilly Series since 2021, and they are still seeking their first victory. Thompson finished 18th in the standings a year ago with a top finish of fifth place at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He's currently 18th again with a top finish of sixth at Talladega Superspeedway.
Burton is 20th with a top finish of eighth place at Daytona International Speedway. Kaz Grala, the team's only ever full-time driver in their history (2023), finished 19th that year with a top effort of fourth at Richmond Raceway.
The team's all-time best finishes are a pair of third place efforts, first with John Hunter Nemechek at Richmond in 2021 and then with Corey Heim at Iowa Speedway in 2024.
Haas Factory Team's driver lineup for 2027 has not yet been announced following the confirmations that both Creed and Mayer will not be back.
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