Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Justin Haley

  • Truex on pole position for NASCAR All-Star Race

    Truex on pole position for NASCAR All-Star Race

    The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. will start on pole position for the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race on Wednesday, July 15, by virtue of a random draw. The lineup was revealed during Monday night’s coverage of NASCAR Race Hub on FS1.

    Truex, who is in his second season driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, is ranked seventh in the Cup Series regular-season standings and trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 132 points. He is guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Playoffs by virtue of his victory at Martinsville Speedway in June. He will also make his ninth career start in NASCAR’s All-Star feature.

    Joining Truex on the front row is Alex Bowman, who will make his third consecutive All-Star Race appearance. Ryan Blaney, who will make his fourth consecutive All-Star start, will start third followed by newcomer Justin Haley, who will make his All-Star Race debut. Kevin Harvick, a two-time winner of the All-Star Race, will start fifth.

    Matt Kenseth, the 2004 All-Star Race champion who will pilot the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE that won last year’s race with Kyle Larson, will start in sixth followed by the 2010 All-Star winner and teammate Kurt Busch. Rookie Cole Custer, coming off his thrilling victory last Sunday at Kentucky Speedway, will roll off the grid in eighth while making his All-Star Race debut. Brad Keselowski will start ninth while Kyle Busch, the 2017 All-Star Race champion, will round out the top 10.

    Ryan Newman, the 2002 All-Star Race champion, will start 11th alongside Joey Logano, winner of the 2016 All-Star feature. Chase Elliott will start 13th next to teammate Jimmie Johnson, a four-time All-Star Race winner who will make his 19th and final start in the featured race. Denny Hamlin, the 2015 All-Star champion, will start 15th while teammate Erik Jones will round out the top-16 field as competitors that have already been guaranteed a spot for the main event.

    The final four spots of the 20-car field will be determined following the NASCAR All-Star Open, which will occur prior to the All-Star Race on July 15. The leaders/winners of each of the three segments will advance to the All-Star Race and will be joined by the Fan Vote winner.

    This year’s All-Star Race will occur at Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time in NASCAR history. Among the rules featured for the race includes the Choose Rule, where the competitors must commit to the inside or outside lane for a restart while approaching a designated spot on the track; extra sponsor exposure, where the car number will move to the rear wheel and allow the exposure of sponsors; and underglow lights, where the car automatically qualified for the All-Star Race will have lights glowing beneath the racing vehicles. This will mark the first time where the underglow lights will be featured on the cars since Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson sported underglow lights to their cars during the Burnouts on Broadway spectacle as part of NASCAR’s Champion’s Week in Nashville last December.

    This year’s All-Star Race will feature four segments with 55 laps in the first segment, 35 in the second, 35 in the third and 15 for the fourth and final segment, a total of 140 laps where one million dollars awaits the winner.

    The 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race will air on July 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Kaulig Racing posts strong performances at Indianapolis

    Kaulig Racing posts strong performances at Indianapolis

    In the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix Circuit, Kaulig Racing came into the famed racetrack’s new road course layout with three opportunities to walk away with a trophy as A.J. Allmendinger returned to the team’s roster and competed alongside teammates Ross Chastain and Justin Haley. In the closing laps, Haley and Allmendinger were in striking distance of the win, only to end up in the top five while Chastain concluded his race in the top 10.

    Based on a random draw, Chastain started ninth and Haley started 11th while Allmendinger was back in 30th in the starting grid. When the green flag waved, Chastain and Haley settled in the top five while Allmendinger, who was the fastest in the first of two practice sessions on Friday, utilized his road-course skills to methodically work his way to the front. By the fifth lap, he was up to 16th. As the first stage progressed to its final laps, Chastain and Haley continued running within the top five while Allmendinger cracked the top 10. With three laps remaining in the first stage, Allmendinger was one of three competitors who pitted at the time the caution fell due to debris. Early disaster, however, struck when he was caught speeding on pit road and was sent to the rear of the field. With the first stage concluding under caution, Haley finished third and Chastain was in sixth while Allmendinger was scored back in 12th.

    Following pit stops for air pressure adjustments, Chastain and Haley were in the top 10 and Allmendinger was scored in 16th for the start of the second stage. Throughout the stage, Allmendinger worked his way back into the top 10 with Haley and Chastain still racing within the top 10 despite encountering handling issues. Following a late caution when Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones’ car went up in smoke and flames, all three Kaulig cars pitted for adjustments to their respective Chevrolets. In a two-lap dash to conclude the stage, Haley was able to work his way to finish fourth while Allmendinger finished 11th, just missing the top-10 mark. Chastain fell back to 16th while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe won the stage.

    When the final stage commenced with 20 laps remaining, Haley and Allmendinger were in the top six while Chastain was back in 14th. Five laps later, Allmendinger moved inside the top three as he started to engage in a battle for the lead with Briscoe and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric. The caution returned with approximately 10 laps remaining due to debris from Tommy Joe Martins, and all three Kaulig cars pitted. With the race restarting with seven laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as Allmendinger quickly worked his way to second behind Briscoe. Four laps later, Briscoe slipped in Turn 10 and Allmendinger emerged with the lead, though he was pressured by Cindric. Entering the frontstretch two laps later, Allmendinger was bumped and was placed in a three-wide battle with Cindric and Briscoe. In Turn 1, Allmendinger was passed and forced off the track by Briscoe through Turns 1 and 2 as he lost the lead and was left in a tight battle with Cindric for second. Following contact between Cindric and Allmendinger through Turns 5 and 6 and a slip in Turn 7 for Allmendinger, Haley and JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson overtook both and left Allmendinger back in fourth. When the final lap started, Gragson slipped in Turn 1, which allowed Haley to move into second. Despite his late rally, Haley was unable to gain a final lap charge to Briscoe as he crossed the line in the runner-up spot. Behind, Allmendinger settled in fourth following his late battle with Cindric while Chastain came back to finish sixth.

    The results marked the fourth time in 2020 where three Kaulig Racing competitors finished in the top 10. For Haley, this marked his fifth top-five finish of this season, the ninth of his career and his best result on a road course and at his hometrack. For Allmendinger, this marked his third top-five result of this season, his fifth driving for Kaulig Racing and his career best at Indianapolis. For Chastain, his sixth-place result marked his 11th top-10 result of this season, sixth in the last six weeks and his career best at Indianapolis. The result left Chastain settled in third in the standings, trailing points leader and this year’s Indianapolis winner Briscoe by 55 points, while he continues to pursue his first victory of the season.

    Haley and Chastain will represent Kaulig Racing in the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series’ doubleheader races at Kentucky Speedway on July 9 and 10, both of which will air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Haley to compete in All-Star Race for Spire Motorsports

    Haley to compete in All-Star Race for Spire Motorsports

    Justin Haley, coming off his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career win at Talladega Superspeedway, will compete in this year’s NASCAR Cup All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, July 15. 

    The Winamac, Indiana, native became eligible for the annual All-Star event when he scored his first Cup career victory at Daytona International Speedway in July 2019 in a rain-shortened race, though he is not a full-time Cup competitor. The win came in Haley’s third Cup career start, which was the earliest a Cup driver scored a first career win since Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 in his second series start. 

    Haley will be driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Spire Motorsports, the same organization he drove to his first Cup win, while sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In addition, Haley, who became the 32nd driver to win across NASCAR’s three major division series, will also become the ninth NASCAR Next alumnus to compete in the annual exhibition race.

    Haley is in his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series with Kaulig Racing, where he has won once and notched seven top-10 results through 11 races. His lone Cup start this season came in February in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500, where he drove the No. 16 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Kaulig Racing and finished 13th.

    With Haley’s entrance, 15 Cup competitors have secured their spots for the first All-Star Race to run at Bristol, including Matt Kenseth. The remaining competitors have until the event to either win any of the four regular-season series races prior to the All-Star Race (Pocono doubleheader, Indianapolis and Kentucky), transfer via the NASCAR All-Star Open that will occur prior to the All-Star Race on July 15 or as a final measure, be eligible for the Fan Vote win.

    This year’s All-Star Race at Bristol will mark the first time the annual event will occur outside of Charlotte Motor Speedway as Charlotte, North Carolina, continues to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This will also be the first and only time in 2020 where the Cup cars will sport number logos towards the rear wheel instead of the car’s doors, a move that will provide more space for sponsor logos to appear on the car’s side and which serves as a test for NASCAR for possible, future uses.

    Further announcements regarding the format of the All-Star Race will be announced at a later date.

  • Double win for Kaulig Racing at Talladega

    Double win for Kaulig Racing at Talladega

    Following a doubleheader weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kaulig Racing came into Talladega Superspeedway with three opportunities to win the race and two opportunities to win the $100,000 bonus from the Dash 4 Cash program. When the checkered flag flew, the team accomplished both achievements as Justin Haley scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career win at one of the world’s fastest superspeedway venues while Ross Chastain claimed the bonus with a runner-up finish.

    Based on a random draw, Haley drew the pole position while Chastain started ninth. Teammate AJ Allmendinger, fresh off his Dash 4 Cash win last weekend at Homestead, started at the rear of the field due to his No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet Camaro failing pre-race inspection three times.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Haley and Chastain battled and remained at the front of the pack while Allmendinger was settling outside the top 20 and behind the lead pack while preserving his car to the end as a pre-cautionary approach for any potential incident to occur early in the race. This was how the trio ran through the competition caution on the 10th lap and when the first stage concluded on Lap 25, which was won by Haley.  

    Throughout the second stage, it was only Chastain who remained towards the front and battled for the lead as Haley, who started towards the front, was shuffled out of the draft, placed in a three-wide battle with the pack and drifted outside the top 10. Allmendinger, who was penalized for having too many crew members over his pit stall under the first stage’s break, continued running within the top 30 and behind the pack. When the stage concluded, Chastain settled in fifth while Haley worked his way back to sixth after spending the final two laps of the stage going three wide on the outside lane to gain momentum and positions to the start/finish line. Allmendinger finished 25th.

    When the final stage started with less than 60 laps remaining, Chastain and Haley restarted third and fifth, but were shuffled back to eighth and 19th nearly 20 laps later as the racing towards the front started to intensify. Allmendinger continued to settle within the top 20 and behind the lead pack. With 37 laps remaining, all three Kaulig Racing competitors made a green-flag pit stop, but caught a break when the caution flew for a four-car wreck. Under caution, the trio remained on track to restart inside the top five. When the race restarted with 33 laps remaining, the trio occupied the podium positions with Chastain leading. A lap later, Haley was shuffled back to 12th.

    Following another caution for a multi-car wreck, a red-flag delay spanning nearly 11 minutes and a restart with 14 laps remaining, Allmendinger was shuffled out of the draft and all the way back to 14th. Chastain was able to retain the lead while Haley was in seventh. For the next six laps, Chastain was locked in a heated battle with Austin Cindric and Jeb Burton for the lead while Haley was able to work his way back into the top five. Then came an 11-car pileup in the frontstretch with seven laps remaining, a wreck that occurred just behind Haley and Chastain while Allmendinger was barely able to dodge the carnage in one piece.

    Following a second red-flag period spanning six and a half minutes, the racing resumed with three laps remaining, Haley, who restarted second, fired off past the restart zone and ignited a challenge with Burton for the lead with Chastain right behind his bumper and Allmendinger trying to work his way back to the front. A lap later, after Burton was able to pull away from the field, Haley came charging back on the outside lane and was alongside Burton when the final lap started. In Turn 2, Allmendinger gave Chastain’s No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro a push, who closed towards and pushed Haley’s No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro clear of Burton with the lead entering Turn 3. From there, Haley was gone and was able to beat the field by two-tenths of a second to claim his first elusive Xfinity win in his 47th series start.

    With the victory, Haley, who led 16 laps, became the 164th driver to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series race and the fifth regular-season series winner of the 2020 season, which has the Winamac, Indiana, native a guaranteed spot for the Xfinity Playoffs. He also became the third first-time winner of this season, (Noah Gragson and Harrison Burton), the fourth first-time series winner at Talladega and the 32nd driver to win across NASCAR’s top three national major division series. The win was also the second for crew chief Alexander Yontz. Following his victory burnouts and celebration with his teammates on the frontstretch, an emotional Haley took a moment to dedicate his first win to the late Nick Harrison, who was Haley’s crew chief last season until he died unexpectedly last July at age 37 following health issues.

    “Well, I got one taken away from me at Daytona [July 2018], which is my own fault,” Haley said. “To, kind of, get redemption, I now won in the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, Truck Series, K&N, ARCA, you name it, I’ve won in it. That meant a lot to me. The Xfinity win was bugging me. I got’em a little out of place there jumping to my Cup win, but it’s so special for everyone. I can’t believe [Burton] gave me [Chastain, restarting on the outside lane]. You never want teammate lined up and that’s what he did. Just having Ross behind me and AJ [Allmendinger], you see the team love here at Kaulig Racing. A win for one guy’s a win for all of us. Just super special. This car was amazing. I’m loving these Kaulig Racing guys. They’ve been so incredible.” 

    The runner-up finish was Chastain’s best result along with his third top-five finish through the first 11 races of this season. Above all, Chastain, who also led a race-high 24 of the event’s 113-scheduled laps, won his first Dash 4 Cash program of his career and the second in a row of this season for Kaulig Racing. With his result, Chastain jumped from fifth to fourth in the standings and trails points leader Gragson by 47 points.

    “It was teamwork that got it done,” Chastain said. “I would say we were pretty even until the backstretch coming to the white flag. AJ Allmendinger in the 16 car gave me like a hundred horsepower boost down the back. I’ve never been hit so hard and not crashed as that. It started with the third car, took three of us, me, to the 10 car to [Haley] and he was able to clear [Burton]. It’s so gratifying to come these places. You come here and you can come here your whole career and never finish, never run good. AJ’s been coming here so long. He’s hit every corner of this place. It was that experience that paid off, and just having him as a teammate, it’s awesome. Justin and I have learned so much, and it’s all paying off.”

    With their one-two finish, Haley and Chastain will contend for the fourth and final Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus of this season next weekend at Pocono Raceway along with Austin Cindric and Alex Labbe.

    Allmendinger settled in seventh for his fourth top-10 result of this season and his sixth in the last two seasons while competing on a part-time basis for Kaulig Racing. He will return at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval-road course venue on July 4.

    Following 11 races into the 2020 season, Kaulig Racing operations have notched a combined nine top-five results, 20 top-10 results and have led a combined 203 laps, the most gained for the organization, team owner Matt Kaulig and team president Chris Rice after 11 races in the team’s fifth year of existence. They have also won four NASCAR career races with three different drivers, all of whom currently drive for the team. For LeafFilter Gutter Protection, Haley’s sponsor which has also been a primary sponsor with the team since its existence in 2016, this marked the company’s first time earning a trip to victory lane with a competitor in a stock car race.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return at Pocono Raceway on June 28, where the race will air at 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be part of a quadruple-header weekend.

  • Kaulig Racing victorious at Atlanta

    Kaulig Racing victorious at Atlanta

    Following a dismal week at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kaulig Racing traveled south to Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia as AJ Allmendinger returned to the team’s lineup alongside Ross Chastain and Justin Haley. When the dust settled and the checkered flag flew, all three teams finished in the top 10 with Allmendinger earning the race win and recording Kaulig Racing’s first NASCAR victory of the 2020 season.

    Coming into Atlanta, Kaulig Racing’s previous best finish at the track was eighth, which came a year ago with Haley and the No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet team. This season, the team had three opportunities to improve on the stat. 

    The starting lineup was determined by a random draw. Haley started fourth, which marked the fourth consecutive race since NASCAR’s return to on-track racing where he started in the top five. Chastain, who finished sixth in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series event at Atlanta earlier in the day, started 11th and Allmendinger started 30th.

    When the race commenced, Haley moved to the runner-up spot as Chastain remained inside the top 10. By the 10th lap, Allmendinger had worked his way inside the top 20 and all three Kaulig Racing Chevrolets remained in the top 10 at the time the competition caution flew on Lap 16. Under the competition caution, all three Kaulig competitors remained on track along with the majority of the field. When the front-runners pitted, Haley inherited the lead for the restart on Lap 21.

    For four laps following the Lap 21 restart, Haley led, but was overtaken by Austin Cindric for the lead on Lap 25. By Lap 30, Chastain moved into the runner-up spot, trailing Cindric by more than three seconds. Haley settled in third, trailing Cindric by four seconds while Allmendinger was in 12th. When the first stage concluded, Chastain and Haley settled in second and third behind Cindric while Allmendinger was able to work his way in the top 10 by finishing ninth.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Chastain exited second while Allmendinger exited fifth. Haley was due to restart in the top five, but was sent to the rear of the field in 27th due to a crew member jumping over the pit wall too early.

    When the second stage started on Lap 47, Chastain retained the runner-up position while Allmendinger, who made a brief appearance in the top five, settled in the top 10. By Lap 60, Haley had made his way back into the top 15. Five laps later, Allmendinger made his way to fifth after overtaking JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson in Turn 4.

    Following a caution on Lap 68 for a spin involving rookie Riley Herbst and a late restart in the stage, Chastain fell to third as Chase Briscoe moved to second. Behind, Allmendinger continued to run in the top five while Haley made his way back inside the top 10. When the second stage concluded, which was won by Cindric, Chastain finished third, Allmendinger settled in fifth and Haley rallied to finish seventh.

    Under the stage break and when the leaders pitted, Chastain and Allmendinger exited in the top five while Haley was penalized again, this time for speeding on pit road, and was sent to the rear of the field.

    Over the course of the next 38 laps in the final stage, which included two cautions and two restarts, all three Kaulig Racing competitors were running in the top 10, watching from a distance as Briscoe maintained a steady advantage over Cindric. With less than 40 laps remaining, an opportunity presented itself under caution following a pit stop when the top-three competitors that included Briscoe, Cindric and Allgaier sped on pit road and were sent to the rear of the field. Their misfortunes allowed Allmendinger to inherit the lead for the restart with 34 laps remaining. Haley restarted third behind Allmendinger while Chastain restarted sixth.

    When the race restarted, Allmendinger took off with the lead while Haley settled in third after being overtaken by Gragson. Over the course of the final 34 laps, Allmendinger would navigate his way through lapped traffic and maintain his advantage over a second over Gragson, which was enough to claim the checkered flag first and record his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season. The victory was Allmendinger’s fourth of his Xfinity Series career in his 18th series start, his first oval-track win and his first Atlanta win in his first series start at the track. In addition, Kaulig Racing notched its third NASCAR Xfinity career win in the team’s fifth season.

    “Oh, my god! I won on an oval! You like that?!” Allmendinger said on FOX. “Matt Kaulig, I really love you. Chris Rice, these cars were awesome. It’s Atlanta. You’re trying to figure out how much tire to use early. The car was awesome on long runs. Once I got to the lead, I was just trying to hit my marks, which is hard to do. I can’t thank everybody at Kaulig Racing, LeafFilter Gutter Protection, everybody that’s associated with this team. We got C2 Freight Resources on the car…Thank you ECR [Engines], Chevrolet, everybody for giving me the opportunity. Let’s party.”

    Following his victory, team owner Matt Kaulig announced that Allmendinger will compete in the second Xfinity Series doubleheader event at Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 14 as one of four Xfinity competitors vying for the second Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus.

    Haley rallied from his pair of pit road penalties to finish third for his third top-five finish of the season while Chastain settled in seventh for his sixth top-10 result of the season.

    “[Today] was good,” Haley said on PRN Radio. “We’ve had speed the past few weeks and haven’t had any luck. So, glad we could finally finish it off. Last week at Bristol, we were passing for the lead and when the caution came out, [we] got wrecked on the restart. I don’t know, it’s just tough. Congrats to A.J. He was pretty good. All three Kaulig Racing cars were fast. We’ll keep digging.”

    With his result, Haley moved from eighth to seventh in the standings and trails points leader Briscoe by 73 points as he will also contend for the Dash 4 Cash bonus next weekend at Homestead. Chastain remained in fifth in the standings as he trails Briscoe by 45 points.

    Next on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is a doubleheader series weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the first on June 13 and the second on June 14. The June 13 race at Homestead will air at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX while the June 14 race will air at noon ET on FS1.

  • Tough ending for Kaulig Racing at Bristol

    Tough ending for Kaulig Racing at Bristol

    Following an up-and-down result last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kaulig Racing traveled to Tennessee for the next NASCAR Xfinity Series scheduled race at Bristol Motor Speedway, fielding three cars as AJ Allmendinger joined Ross Chastain and Justin Haley to the team’s lineup. When the checkered flag dropped under the lights, Allmendinger emerged with a top-10 result while Haley and Chastain were left with disappointing finishes outside the top 15.

    With the race’s lineup determined by a random draw, Haley and Chastain started fourth and sixth while Allmendinger, who started his first Xfinity event since the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in September, started 27th. In the opening laps of the race, Haley and Chastain displayed early speed by moving to third and fourth. Disaster struck, however, on the fifth lap, when Chastain blew a right-front tire entering Turn 4 and made contact with Austin Cindric against the outside wall. The contact sent Chastain around, where he was clipped by an oncoming Michael Annett. Despite sustaining significant rear-end damage to his No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet, Chastain’s crew was able to make repairs to keep the driver on the lead lap.

    When the race restarted on Lap 16, Haley settled in third. He remained in the top five as the laps dwindled while Allmendinger methodically worked his way up through the field. Nearly 10 laps later, however, Chastain was forced to pit under green for more repairs needed to his car. He eventually took his car behind the wall where his crew was able to continue making repairs. He would eventually return to the track multiple laps down.

    At the time of the competition caution on Lap 35, Haley was third and Allmendinger was able to race his way to 18th. When the race completed its first stage, Haley was fourth, Allmendinger raced his way into the top 10 in eighth and Chastain was 31st, more than 30 laps behind. Following pit stops under the stage break, Haley exited eighth while Allmendinger returned on track in 11th.

    When the second stage started on Lap 98, Haley moved into second but slipped to third the following restart. On Lap 121, a bump from Ryan Sieg sent Allmendinger spinning in Turn 3, drawing the event’s sixth caution. Despite the contact, Allmendinger was able to keep Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Ellsworth Advisors Chevrolet sideways below the apron without sustaining any damage or contact from anyone else. He pitted for fresh tires and returned on track.

    By Lap 155, Allmendinger battled his way within the top 10 while Haley continued racing in the top five, spending most of the race in third. At the conclusion of the second stage, Haley was third and Allmendinger was 10th. Chastain was in 28th, 30 laps behind the leaders.

    Throughout the start of the final stage, Haley continued battling in the top five and Allmendinger continued battling inside the top 10. With 81 laps remaining, Haley moved into second after passing Noah Gragson and started his pursuit for the lead toward Justin Allgaier. During this time, however, Allmendinger made an unscheduled pit stop to have the left-side tires changed. By the time he returned on track, he was three laps behind the leaders.

    As the laps dwindled, Haley started to chip away his one-second deficit from Allgaier. With less than 60 laps remaining, Haley drew himself within a tenth of a second from Allgaier, who was struggling behind lapped traffic and was ready to pounce for the lead. With the battle for the lead brewing, the caution flew with eight laps remaining for a single-car spin in Turn 4. Under caution, Haley pitted with the leaders and dropped to fourth. Allmendinger remained on the track while Chastain pitted as both were still multiple laps behind.

    The following restart with 45 to go, Haley made contact with rookie Riley Herbst in Turn 2. The contact sent Herbst spinning and slapping the outside wall while Haley proceeded in third with cosmetic damage and a dragged splitter to his No. 11 LeafFilter Chevrolet. Despite the damage, Haley remained on track while reporting no significant fender damage. When the race restarted with 36 to go, Haley fell to fourth but returned to third two laps later after forcing his way below Brandon Jones in Turn 2.

    With approximately 20 laps remaining, Haley’s race went south when he slipped in Turn 1 and scrubbed the outside wall in Turn 2 while trying to race his way back to second. The contact cut a tire on Haley’s machine, where he was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop as his chances of winning his first Xfinity race evaporated for another week.

    Through two additional cautions and a late restart that extended the race into overtime, Allmendinger was able to race his way back on the lead lap. On the overtime restart, Allmendinger was able to race his way to a 10th-place result for his third top-10 result in his sixth start with Kaulig Racing. Haley settled in 17th, four laps behind the leaders, while Chastain ended his long race in 28th, 48 laps behind. All Kaulig teammates watched from a distance as Gragson held off Chase Briscoe and Jones to win at Thunder Valley.

    With the result, Haley is eighth in the series standings, 79 points behind points leader Briscoe, while Chastain dropped from third to fifth and is 52 points behind.

    Allmendinger is scheduled to make seven more Xfinity races this season with Kaulig Racing. Chastain and Haley, along with their fellow competitors, will return for the next series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on June 6 at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Kaulig Racing salvages top-10 results at Darlington

    Kaulig Racing salvages top-10 results at Darlington

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series return to on-track racing at Darlington Raceway for the Toyota 200 was a challenging day for Kaulig Racing’s Ross Chastain and Justin Haley, both of whom dealt with handling issues from the drop of the green flag. In the end, both were able to survive a late-race restart and walk away with top-10 results while earning valuable points towards the postseason.

    The race was postponed to Thursday at noon ET from its scheduled date on Tuesday, May 19, due to persistent rain, but faced another delay of more than four hours on the postponed race date. Nonetheless, the jet dryers were able to dry the track to have the race prepared at 4:20 p.m. ET. 

    When the race commenced, Haley started third based on a random draw while Chastain started ninth. Throughout the first stage, spanning 45 laps, Chastain displayed early speed and was able to drive his No. 10 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet as high as second despite battling tightness. Haley, meanwhile, fell back to ninth while reporting to his crew chief Alexander Yontz that his car was tight and needed more stability. 

    Following a late caution that established a six-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage, Chastain restarted on the front row alongside pole-sitter Noah Gragson and made a brief challenge for the lead, but Gragson was able to maintain the lead through Turn 4. At the stage’s conclusion, Chastain would finish second behind Gragson while Haley managed to finish 10th, which was enough to earn one stage point.

    The second stage was where both Kaulig Racing competitors started to battle on-track handling issues to their respective Camaros. Restarting under green, Chastain restarted third while Haley restarted 11th. As the race progressed into a long run, Chastain started to struggle for grip through the turns and while on the throttle. With 11 laps remaining in the stage, he slipped in Turn 2 when Chase Briscoe got Chastain aero loose and slipping sideways. The light contact caused him to fall back as low as eighth while Briscoe, Gragson, Daniel Hemric, Michael Annett and Austin Cindric were able to pass Chastain. Haley, meanwhile, had fallen back to 15th at the start, but managed to work back to 12th through the long run.

    When the second stage concluded, which was won by Kyle Busch, Chastain salvaged a seventh-place result after outlasting a back-and-forth, lap-by-lap exchange with Cindric for position while Haley finished 12th after continuing to battle with loose conditions to his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. 

    Under pit stops, both pitted for four fresh tires and fuel with Chastain receiving wedge adjustments and Haley receiving adjustments to the right rear of his car along with air pressure changes.

    When the race resumed in the final stage, Chastain restarted sixth and Haley restarted 11th. They remained in the top-11 for the majority of the final run. Both teammates appeared to have top-10 runs established when Annett spun in Turn 4 and drew the race’s fifth caution with 15 laps remaining.

    During the caution, Chastain and Haley joined the leaders in making a final round of pit stops. Chastain received air pressure and track bar adjustments to restart ninth while Haley received air pressure and wedge adjustments and restarted 11th despite opting to not take fuel.

    In a nine-lap dash to the finish, Chastain and Haley were each able to gain one position for themselves, but were unable to mount a further charge to the front. When the checkered flag flew, Chastain finished eighth and Haley settled in 10th. They watched from a distance as Chase Briscoe withstood a last-lap battle against Kyle Busch to win.

    Chastain and Haley each claimed their fourth top-10 result of this season. With the result, Chastain is fifth in the Xfinity Series regular-season standings and trails race winner and new points leader Briscoe by 35 points while Haley is eighth and trails by 55.

    Chastain and Haley, along with their fellow competitors, will return for the next Xfinity Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway scheduled on May 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

  • Opinion: Haley’s Win A Win for NASCAR Regardless Of Spire’s Business Model

    Opinion: Haley’s Win A Win for NASCAR Regardless Of Spire’s Business Model

    In this day and age it’s not very often an underdog actually defies the odds and wins big in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. It’s far more likely in the lower divisions, but to see it in Cup is a borderline rarity.

    Sure, at Chicagoland Alex Bowman scored the win. Last season, Chase Elliott and Erik Jones scored their first wins. In 2017 Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Ryan Blaney all scored their first wins. But each of those drivers compete for established organizations in Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Roush-Fenway Racing, and Wood Brothers Racing. Each team has solid backing and solid footing in the sport. But when a freshly formed team like Spire Motorsports manages to put a driver in Victory Lane despite claims that they’re nothing more than a solid money grab, the underdog ranking goes up a few notches.

    During the red flag period at the end of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona which led to Justin Haley’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win in only his third attempt, social media on Twitter, Facebook, and even Reddit seemed to be torn between excitement over a true surprise winner in the Spire Motorsports organization and frustration how a sports agency managed to buy a charter just to grab some money, at least according to a few media pundits.

    Regardless of Spire’s true intentions, be it to build their team up into an actual competitor or to make a few bucks, the fact still remains that they have every right to be on the track. They bought the equipment, they formed the crew, they established the business side of the race team, and they put different drivers behind the wheel. For that matter they’ve managed to not just enter the race but actually put themselves in positions to be consistent and post decent runs, most notably with Haley. They’re a new team, so to go on Twitter and angrily pound out a tweet because it’s just so wrong and dumb that a cash grab team can win a race; don’t hate the player, hate the game. The No. 77 is right where it’s supposed to be on track.

    NASCAR isn’t even to fault for the win. Sure, Daytona has lights and a boatload of jet dryers leased out from other speedways for the event weekend. But after being pushed back a day, who in their right mind would want to stick around four, six, eight more hours just to finish 30+ more laps? The race was almost through, and Peter Sospenzo, who is not a slouch on the pit box, made the calls he needed to make to score the win for his team. Nothing was lost by calling the race. Nothing was hurt.

    In the moments after the race was called, Haley’s name was trending third worldwide on Twitter, a testimony to just how big of an upset this was. Some compared it to the Derrike Cope win at Daytona in 1990, while others compared it to Trevor Bayne’s Daytona win in 2011. Some even compared it to Jamie McMurray’s Charlotte win in 2002. Ultimately, as this is an opinion piece, it has to be said that this win is more like Greg Sacks winning at Daytona in July 1985. The No. 10 of Sacks was nothing more than a research and development entry for DiGard Motorsports but since it was actually contending for the lead they changed their approach from parking the car to letting Sacks go for the win, which he did.

    Similar concept for Spire and Haley. They were on track just to earn some experience and to give Haley some track time as it was only his third start in Cup. But just as it was at Talladega in his Cup debut, Haley kept himself within sight of the leaders. That proved to be the deciding factor when the red flag was dropped, and now Haley is a Cup Series winner.

    The world loves an underdog. This, after steady weeks of the same teams winning race after race which is bound to resume once the series hits Kentucky, is an undying fact. There wouldn’t be this much of a buzz if it were anyone else. But it wasn’t anyone else; it was Spire Motorsports and Haley, a duo that wasn’t really supposed to be in the Winner’s Circle, let alone at Daytona, but accomplished that anyway. The little team that wasn’t supposed to win did just that by impeccable strategy and an insane amount of luck.

    That’s not an unfamiliar story in NASCAR, and it’s a story that’s just as solid as many, many more over the years. So social media can keep on talking, saying that Spire is in the sport only for the money, that the team was undeserving, that they didn’t earn the win. It doesn’t matter; Haley and Spire are still the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 winners.

    More importantly, NASCAR once again has a true underdog victory in it’s ranks.

  • Camping World Truck Series 2018 Season Just What Division Needed

    Camping World Truck Series 2018 Season Just What Division Needed

    The 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season is now four days over, and observers all agree that it was an ideal year for the sport’s number three division. No incessant talks of Cup drivers ruining the show, no extra nonsense with behind the scenes matters, and a series regular earned the title with an underdog team as Brett Moffitt used six season wins to score a championship.

    The 2018 season was by the regulars, for the regulars, and not an ounce of hubris was in sight. Not only was there a strong storyline in Moffitt’s championship run, other drivers had their time in the sun. Justin Haley surprised many when he went from winner at Gateway and MoSport to championship threat with his Texas win in November. Johnny Sauter continued to be the best in the division with six wins. Noah Gragson was always at the front in his Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra while teammate Todd Gilliland contended for wins throughout the season. Even ThorSport driver Grant Enfinger put up some strong numbers, even scoring a win at Las Vegas in the Playoffs.

    The 2018 Truck Series season was host to some of the best racing in NASCAR during the year, which lives up to the division’s reputation as a haven for good racing. That had been a difficult claim to boast in previous seasons as part-time dominance wrecked winning hopes for series regulars. Instead, in 2018 non-series regulars won five races, as Kyle Busch won two and John Hunter Nemechek, Chase Briscoe, and Timothy Peters all won once. That left the season to be decided by who mattered the most–division regulars.

    2018 was the season the Truck Series earned it’s identity back after years of just being viewed as a lesser division, a feeder/development series. Quite the opposite is true; any racing division should be recognized not as a feeder series but as it’s very own product. The Truck Series has been in this position before, producing some of the best product in NASCAR and standing on the strength of its own quality product.

    The division isn’t out of the woods yet as several teams face the very real issue of finances. Season champion Moffitt and his Hattori Racing Enterprises are unsure they’ll be paired up next season despite this season’s successes. This is an ongoing problem across the board with successful drivers still going without rides as they’re not bringing in enough funding.

    But if the Truck Series can have another season like 2018, and if drivers like Moffitt can secure funding for another championship run, the division might not become an equal to the Cup series, but it can come close.

     

     

  • Justin Haley Finishes Eighth at Homestead and Third in Final Standings

    Justin Haley Finishes Eighth at Homestead and Third in Final Standings

    Justin Haley had quite the year with three wins which locked him into the Championship 4 after winning at Texas just a few weeks ago. However, the No. 24 GMS Racing team just couldn’t find the magic Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He finished eighth in the Ford Ecoboost 200 and third in the year-end standings after battling a loose truck all night.

    “When we fired off and just about five laps into the run, we lost all speed. I think Johnny (Sauter) had the same issues,” Haley told MRN Radio. “I think the GMS camp just missed a little bit tonight and we win together, lose together.”

    “Unfortunate night, but really good season. Everyone at Fraternal Order of Eagles and GMS has me an opportunity to run at the championship, definitely means a lot. So, going to hang our heads high and move on to next year.”

    Haley believes they did the best they could trying to win the championship.

    “It obviously could have gone better, but I say we made a solid run at it” he continued. “I’m not the best at running Homestead and I’m not the best running the board, so probably a little lack of driver here tonight as well.”

    Haley finishes the season with three wins, nine top fives and 18 top 10 finishes with 60 laps led.