The relationship ended as soon as it started. The Haas Factory Team officially shook hands with Ford in 2025, stepping back into the NASCAR spotlight with high hopes. It was a fresh start under the Blue Oval to rebuild its presence after Stewart-Haas Racing closed in 2024. But that honeymoon was short-lived; come 2026, the team will swap Blue Oval engines for Chevrolet. The shift will ripple beyond HFT, shaking up the manufacturer lineup and forcing Ford to rethink its presence in NASCAR’s development ladder. However, one HFT driver was completely blindsided by this shift.

Haas’s NASCAR origins were forged under the Chevrolet banner. When he launched Haas CNC Racing in 2002, Gene Haas leaned on Hendrick Motorsports, not just for shop space but for technical support, cars, and engines. That early collaboration planted seeds that grew into a meaningful, trust-based partnership. Chevrolet and Hendrick helped put Haas on the map. And that era wasn’t a fleeting chapter; it included a championship glory during the Stewart-Haas Racing years. Under Haas’s stewardship, SHR won two Cup Series titles, one in 2011 and one in 2014, with a Chevrolet power plant. This isn’t just nostalgia; it is strategic and personal.

Sam Mayer, who drives the No. 41 Ford Mustang in the Xfinity Series for Haas Factory Team, admitted that the news took him by surprise. When asked about the change and how Ford as an organization has been, Mayer said, “Everyone at Ford has been amazing to work with. Obviously, this announcement kind of fell in our lap the last like four or five days for myself, so I was definitely taken back a little bit by it. It’s definitely an interesting choice as a Haas factory driver, but yeah, everyone at Ford has been awesome to work with all year, and they said explicitly, like we’re gonna make sure you win the championship at the end of the year, so I’m really looking forward to that.”

On track, Mayer’s been making good on that promise, almost as if he is repaying Ford for their faith. His 2025 campaign includes a breakthrough win at Iowa Speedway, his eighth career Xfinity victory and the first for Haas Factory Team, along with a runner-up at Daytona, a strong third at COTA, and a string of consistent top 10s. Those results have kept him in the forefront, in championship contention, and solidified his standing as one of Ford’s brightest young stars. If he closes the year with the title, it won’t just be another trophy; it will be a bittersweet farewell gift to a manufacturer that’s stood by him and the team right up until the day their paths diverge.

Mayer added, “Everyone’s been behind us 100 percent. Everyone from all the way up, all the way down, they’re all in. Obviously, we’re kind of the foundation of the Xfinity series for Ford, so they want to see the best for us, and I’m going to make sure that happens. We’re going to make it to at least the champ four and go race for a championship. That’s the goal anyway, so really looking forward to it what we got the rest of this year and obviously next year is really exciting as well.” 

Even with the manufacturer change looming, Mayer is laser-focused on taking HFT into the Championship 4 and delivering one last title run. But as exciting as the new chapter with Chevy seems, the reason behind the change is equally important. And the HFT president has finally revealed why.

HFT president explains why the manufacturer change is necessary

It is definitely a bold manufacturer switch with a ripple effect across the grid. We are talking about one less Ford in the Cup Series and two fewer Fords in the Xfinity/O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, plus a shake-up for teams tied to Haas through strategic alliances. In short, this move could redraw NASCAR’s manufacturer map next year. Right now, Haas Factory Team is still in the transition trenches on the Cup side. But for Joe Custer, HFT’s president, that is all the more reason to hit the ground running. On SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Custer broke down the philosophy behind the change.

He said, “And it really starts in starting the weekend, delivering a race car that has more potential in it on a consistent basis. That comes down to the shop and preparation and data, and engineering relationships. It can be done. I would encourage the fans and folks to take a close look at smaller teams, because they have the potential. They just have to look at it differently, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re trying to evolve from a large organization mindset to a nimble, smaller organization that takes advantages of its strengths and looks for solutions in areas it needs to improve and doesn’t hide from it.”

The message from the top is clear: either win or fix what is broken. That is why tough calls have already been made. Cole Custer will remain in the Cup seat, while Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed return for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. In many ways, HFT is shaping up to be Hyak Motorsports 2.0 in the Cup garage.

But the O’Reilly Auto Parts side of the garage faces the bigger manufacturer gut punch. This move yanks away the flagship Ford program, leaving AM racing and RSS racing, both linked to Haas through Ford, wondering what is next. And here is the kicker: the announcement landed just one day after Ford Performance rebranded to Ford Racing, promising a renewed commitment to motorsport. Whether that translates into a new flagship Xfinity Series program and fresh driver development remains to be seen. For now, all eyes are on how Ford responds and how Chevy’s newest partner writes its next chapter.