An Emotional Cole Custer Welcomes a Healthy Baby Boy as the Reigning Champ Expands His Family

Cole Custer, the reigning Xfinity Series champion and current standings leader, is celebrating a new victory off the track! With one win, 16 top 10s, and 9 top 5s this season, and a fixed Cup seat for 2025, Custer has been on a roll. But this Olympic break has brought him a personal milestone that’s even more thrilling.

As NASCAR takes a brief hiatus, Cole and his wife Kari Custer are over the moon with joy, welcoming their new bundle of joy, baby Brian, into the world. The Xfinity star, who grew up in California, now finds his family expanding in North Carolina.

Cole Custer has turned this Olympic downtime into a cherished family moment, and now, with baby Brian in their arms, the Custer family, especially the granddad Joe Custer, has an extra reason to celebrate. Congratulations to Cole, Kari, and little Brian—what a wonderful way to celebrate his stellar season!

The 2024 season has been a glittering ride for Cole Custer. He notched his first win at Pocono Raceway in mid-July after battling a fiercely persistent Justin Allgaier and carving his way from 8th to 1st place. As he looks slated to grab a consecutive Xfinity championship title, a precious family achievement may be a massive motivator as well as a ‘Lucky Charm’ for him.

Kari delivered their first-born baby, Callahan Brian Custer, on August 1, 2024, and the driver could not cap his overflowing joy. He posted an adorable picture of the baby, captioning his bubbling emotions on X on August 4th. “Callahan Brian Custer Very thankful to welcome a healthy baby boy, and my wife Kari was amazing through the whole process! It’s been a great Olympic break!,” Cole Custer wrote.

This would mark the most special milestone for the Custer household. Cole Custer met Kari Custer, an entrepreneur, through a mutual friend in 2019. The two lovebirds spent a long time dating and finally exchanged rings and walked the aisle in early 2023. In February this year, Cole Custer posted a gender reveal, as the couple announced the arrival of their young one in August. Finally, they are ready to welcome another Custer to their midst.

It seems like an Olympic break marvelously spent! Now Cole Custer has two things to look forward to next season: the first steps of his baby boy and a coveted seat in the Cup Series. It’s too soon to say, but we’d love to see baby Brian, Daddy Cole, and Granddad Joe Custer in the Cup Series pit lane sharing some great moments as the third generation Custer learns his inheritance.

Custer hauls immense respect

Cole Custer’s resume has no dearth of brilliant racing performance. Racing quarter midgets since he was four, Custer achieved loads—in 2015, he became the youngest speedway winner in ARCA history. He competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2014 as a 16-year-old and won in his seventh start. As an Xfinity Series rookie, he won the Homestead-Miami race in 2017. But his crowning moment came in 2020. He beat his NASCAR idols, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson, in the Kentucky Cup race as a rookie.

So Custer’s enlistment in the Haas Factory Team for 2025 comes as no surprise, as he will head back to the Cup Series next year. Gene Haas, the team’s founder, could not be happier to have Cole Custer drive for his new fold. “On his way to winning the Xfinity Series championship last year, Cole really carved out an identity for himself, on the track and off. He brings home trophies and he races people clean. He’s earned a lot of respect from his peers, and he’s a genuine personality whose hard work resonates with our customers. The NASCAR Cup Series is tough, but Cole is coming back wiser and tougher. We’re very happy to have him in our colors and in our racecar.”

Now with his baby boy to motivate him, we are certain that Cole Custer would enter a bigger, better phase in his racing life.