Justin C. Haley[1] (born April 28, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet ZL1 for Spire Motorsports. He previously went by his nickname J. J. Haley, until he switched to his first name in January 2016 to avoid confusion with fellow competitor J. J. Yeley.[2] Haley owns Darkhorse Racecars, a dirt late model and dirt modified chassis manufacturer.
Haley had a shocking win in the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona in just his third career Cup Series start due to being in the lead, through pit strategy, under caution when lightning and eventual rain hit the area. After scoring his first Xfinity victory in 2020, Haley became the 32nd driver to win a race in all three NASCAR national touring series.
Racing career
Haley began his racing career at age nine, in Quarter Midgets at KokomoQuarter Midget Club during the late summer months of 2008. In 2009 and 2010, he scored the KQMC, Indiana State Series and, in 2011, the Light 160 State Championships.[3]
Regional series
In 2014, Haley ran three K&N Pro Series East races, recording a best finish of seventh at Dover International Speedway.[4] The next year, he joined HScott Motorsports to compete full-time in the Pro Series East, competing for Rookie of the Year honors.[5] In 2016, Haley recorded his first career Pro Series East win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway.[6] Haley won his first Pro Series East championship in 2016 after finishing in the top-ten in all 14 races, the only driver to do so in series history.[7]
Haley joined GMS full-time in 2017, driving the No. 24 Silverado.[12] However, Haley missed the first two races – the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway and the Active Pest Control 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway – due to NASCAR's age restriction. Scott Lagasse Jr. and Alex Bowman replaced Haley at Daytona and Atlanta, respectively.[13][14] He missed the playoffs and finished 12th in the final point standings. In 2018, he earned his first career win at Gateway in June, locking him into the playoffs for the first time. Haley would get his second win of the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, after leaders Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson took each other out in the final corner. In Texas, he got his third win after race leader Gilliland ran out of fuel on the last lap. As a result of these two wins, Haley qualified for the playoff finale at Homestead. Haley finished third in the points standings, after finishing 8th at Homestead.
Haley returned to GMS and the Truck Series in July 2020 at Texas.[15]
Haley drove the No. 24 car at Daytona in July 2018 for GMS Racing, where he unofficially won the race ahead of Kyle Larson and Elliott Sadler. However, it was revealed that Haley went below the double yellow line to pass both of the leaders just before the finish line and NASCAR ruled Haley's pass illegal after the race, giving Larson the win, while Haley finished 18th.[17]
On December 1, 2018, it was announced that Haley signed a multi-year deal to drive the No. 11 full-time for Kaulig Racing in 2019, replacing Ryan Truex.[18] He finished second in the 2019 Daytona July race to Kaulig teammate Ross Chastain.[19] Haley qualified for the Xfinity playoffs, but was eliminated after the Round of 8.[20] He ended the 2019 season 12th in points with 20 top tens.[21]
In June 2020, Haley scored his first Xfinity victory at Talladega Superspeedway after starting on the pole and winning the first stage. He became the 32nd driver to win a race in all three NASCAR national series.[22]
On October 19, 2020, Haley and Kaulig announced a third season together in 2021.[23] Haley missed the Dover race in May due to COVID-19 protocols and was replaced by Zane Smith.[24] On August 28, 2021, Haley scored his only victory of the 2021 Xfinity season by winning at the July Daytona race for the second year in a row; this time over teammate A. J. Allmendinger by .023 seconds. He ended up reaching the Round of 8 and finished the season sixth in points.
For Daytona's 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400, he qualified 34th. In the race, with around 30 laps to go, Austin Dillon and Clint Bowyer tangled, causing "The Big One". Haley, in 27th, narrowly avoided it and sneaked into 3rd. Race leader Kurt Busch and second-place Landon Cassill would pit under caution but Haley did not, inheriting the lead just before lightning struck near the race track, red-flagging the race. After hours of red flag conditions, the race was called, securing Haley's first Cup win in his third start and Spire's first win in their maiden season.[29][30] Since Haley was accepting points for the 2019 Xfinity Series, and was not competing full-time in the Cup Series, he was not eligible for the 2019 Cup playoffs.
On January 10, 2020, Kaulig Racing announced Haley would drive for the team at the Daytona 500 in the No. 16.[31] On February 9, Haley made the field by posting the fastest qualifying speed of all the non-charter teams (190.018mph; 31st overall).[32] After starting 33rd, he was involved in a lap 184 wreck that resulted in a red flag but finished 13th.[33][34] In July, Haley rejoined Spire for the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol, having qualified via his 2019 Daytona win; he finished 14th.[35][36]
Haley was offered a contract by Spire for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.[37] When COVID-19 protocols forced him to miss the Drydene 400 at Dover, Josh Berry took over the No. 77.[24] Haley ran 31 races during the season; 30 races for Spire in the No. 77 and one race for Kaulig in the No. 16.
In June 2021, Kaulig Racing announced in junction with going full-time in the Cup Series in 2022 that Haley will race full-time in one of the teams' two charters.[38] On December 15, 2021, Kaulig Racing revealed that Haley will drive the No. 31 entry for the team.[39]
Haley began the 2023 season with a 32nd-place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500. On March 15, 2023, the No. 31 was served an L2 penalty after unapproved hood louvers were found installed on the car during pre-race inspection at Phoenix; as a result, the team was docked 100 driver and owner points and 10 playoff points. In addition, crew chief Trent Owens was suspended for four races and fined US$100,000.[40] On April 5, 2023, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the penalty, upholding the fine, Owens' suspension, and 10 playoff points, but reducing the 100 driver and owner points deduction to 75 points.[41] On April 19, 2023, the Final Appeals Officer rescinded all points deductions levied against the team.[42] Haley nearly won the inaugural race at the Chicago Street Course, but lost the lead to Shane van Gisbergen late and was unable to pass him. On July 20, 2023, it was announced that Haley would move over to Rick Ware Racing in 2024, for a multi-year contract.[43]
Haley started the 2024 season with a 26th-place finish at the 2024 Daytona 500. At the Circuit of the Americas, Haley finished 17th, but was later disqualified after post-race inspection revealed his car did not meet the minimum weight requirement.[44] At the Goodyear 400 at Darlington, Haley would put up a solid race and finish 9th, earning his first Top 10 with Rick Ware Racing. Two weeks later at Gateway he would score his second Top 10, another 9th-place finish.
On September 20, 2024, it was announced that Haley and Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie would perform a driver swap during the 2024 Hollywood Casino 400 and the following races after, Haley will also replace LaJoie full-time in 2025.[45] At Talladega Haley would score his first Top-ten finish with Spire, a seventh-place finish. This would be Haley's best finish the whole year. He would finish 31st in the final point standings.
Personal life
Haley is the nephew of Todd Braun, owner of Braun Motorsports.[46] He lives in North Carolina. He is one of four children, with two younger sisters and an older brother.
Anthony James Allmendinger, nicknamed "The Dinger,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing
Justin Myrl Allgaier is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, and a substitute driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, for Hendrick Motorsports.
Justin Marks is an American racing driver, entrepreneur, and owner of Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing.
Ryan Matthew Truex is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex's older brother Martin was the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
John Edward "Jeb" Burton IV is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro for Jordan Anderson Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Team AmeriVet. He is the son of Ward Burton, the nephew of Jeff Burton, and the cousin of Jeff's son Harrison Burton. He competed for several seasons as a regular driver at South Boston Speedway, an American racing circuit where his family is historically known for competing, as well as at Ace Speedway. Burton has raced in each of NASCAR's three national series.
Tyler Reed Dillon is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. He has also competed in what is now the ARCA Menards Series, what are now the ARCA Menards Series East and West, and what is now known as the NASCAR Canada Series in the past.
Ross Lee Chastain is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing. He is the older brother of fellow NASCAR driver Chad Chastain.
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Burton Darwin "B. J." McLeod is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He owns B. J. McLeod Motorsports, which fields the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series which McLeod drives part-time, he also and co-owns Live Fast Motorsports, a NASCAR Cup Series team which fields the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 which McLeod drives part-time. McLeod has previously competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series.
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Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 teams: the No. 10 full-time for Ty Dillon, and the No. 16 full-time for A. J. Allmendinger. It also fields three full-time Xfinity Chevrolet Camaro teams: the No. 10 for Daniel Dye, the No. 11 for Josh Williams, and the No. 16 for Christian Eckes. The team has a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, and formerly operated out of the NTS Motorsports facility.
Kaz Grala is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 36 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Front Row Motorsports and the No. 15 Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing. He has also previously competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Pinty's Series as well as what is now the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West.
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Josh L. Williams is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. He also owns Josh Williams Motorsports, which fields cars for development drivers in the ARCA Menards Series, Late Model Stock Cars, Legend Cars and Bandoloero's.
Zane Michael Smith is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports in an alliance with Trackhouse Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 91 Chevrolet Silverado for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. He won the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship driving for Front Row Motorsports.
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Spire Motorsports is an American auto racing organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team is a subsidiary of Spire Sports + Entertainment. In the Cup Series, the team currently fields three Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 teams: the No. 7 for Justin Haley, the No. 71 for Michael McDowell, and the No. 77 for Carson Hocevar. In the Truck Series, the team fields three Chevrolet Silverados: the No. 71 for Rajah Caruth. They have also competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the past.
Daniel Wayne Dye is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing.
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