Kramer from Wellsville becomes NASCAR Cup crew chief for Cole Custer
NASCAR crew chief Jason Burdett talks about racing roots in Steuben County
NASCAR crew chief Jason Burdett describes his racing roots in Steuben County. Burdett will be crew chief for Jimmie Johnson in the Daytona 500.
Wellsville native Aaron Kramer is making a career in the NASCAR industry.
The Haas Factory Team announced Thursday that it has hired Kramer as crew chief for driver Cole Custer and the No. 41 NASCAR Cup Series team in 2025.
Kramer, 35, will join the new Haas Factory Team at the end of the 2024 season. Kramer comes from RFK Racing, another Ford team with which Haas will enter a technical alliance in 2025. Kramer is currently the lead race engineer for Cup Series driver Chris Buescher and the No. 17 team.
Kramer said becoming a crew chief in NASCAR has been his goal since he was a child in Allegany County, working on go-karts.
“This is a great opportunity and I’m very grateful for it,” said Kramer. “I’ve been working toward the crew chief position since I was racing go-karts in high school, and I’m proud to have made it to the Haas Factory Team. Their alliance with RFK makes the learning curve a little less steep because I’m very familiar with the people and processes at RFK.”
Kramer has been with RFK since 2016 and worked his way up from electrical and data systems engineer overseeing the team’s eight-column racetrack simulator to lead race engineer for RFK’s No. 60 NASCAR Xfinity Series team in 2018, Haas said.
Kramer moved up to the Cup Series in 2019 and worked as a second race engineer with the No. 6 team and driver Ryan Newman for two years before moving to the No. 17 team with Buescher in 2021.
Kramer is no stranger to winning ways. He was in the pits for Buescher’s first Cup Series win with RFK in 2022 at Bristol Motor Speedway and later became lead race engineer for the No. 17 team in 2023. Kramer has since been involved in three more race wins with Buescher, who posted his career-best finish of seventh in the championship standings in 2023.
“Aaron’s experience as an engineer and his history with RFK Racing will be a great asset to the Haas Factory Team. We are proud to have him on our team,” said Joe Custer, President of the Haas Factory Team. “NASCAR, and the Cup Series in particular, has become very engineering-focused. The limited time on the track and the nuances of the NextGen car have made simulation and data a major factor. To really make the most of all that information, you need people who can apply that information to the car and work closely with the driver to optimize the car.”
“Aaron is that person and we are confident he can build a team of like-minded individuals to get our race team ready for 2025.”
Kramer’s NASCAR journey from Wellsville to North Carolina
On his last day of high school, Kramer showed up with a U-Haul trailer attached to the back of his truck. He skipped the pomp and circumstance of graduation and headed to North Carolina, the epicenter of stock car racing.
He spent years working as a “mechanic, tire man, shop worker” for small NASCAR teams, he told the Spectator in 2018. Kramer was car chief for Brian Keselowski, the brother of RFK co-owner Brad Keselowski, before deciding to focus on the technical side of the sport.
Kramer graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2016 with a degree in mechanical engineering. While at UNCC, he worked as a front-end mechanic on the team’s No. 37 Cup Series car during his freshman year and also built engines at Arrington Racing Engines while in college.
He eventually joined Penske Technology Group in 2016 before moving to RFK.
More: Can Alex Bowman finally finish in the top 10 at this year’s NASCAR race at Watkins Glen?
A new adventure with the Haas Factory Team
Kramer’s new driver, Cole Custer, is the reigning Xfinity Series champion and current Xfinity Series points leader. Custer, 26, returns to the Cup Series after winning a race at Kentucky Speedway and Rookie of the Year honors in 2020.
“I’m very excited to have Aaron join the Haas Factory Team,” said Custer. “The crew chief is a critical part of the makeup of a race team and Aaron brings a lot to our program. His background will really be a plus for me and our entire organization. We both have work to do this year, but it’s reassuring to know he’ll be my man at the helm of the garage next year.”
The Haas Factory Team is a new offshoot of Stewart-Haas Racing, which will no longer be active from 2025.
“Having Cole as a driver is a huge advantage,” Kramer said. “He is highly motivated and dedicated to his craft. He puts in time away from the track so he’s ready every time he gets in the race car. That’s what you want as a crew chief. We’ll push and support each other to get the best results possible.”
