Justin Haley enjoys playing in the Volusia dirt
DELEON SPRINGS< FL -- If Justin Haley isn’t answering his phone, don’t be surprised.
He’s gone dirt racing.
Just feet from Gator Pond, the 19-year-old was hard at work underneath his UMP Modified, trying to find out why his backup car was misbehaving on the half-mile dirt at Volusia Speedway Park.
“What I like about Volusia and DIRTcar Nationals Speedweeks is it’s six straight nights of racing,” Haley said. “You have problems here. But you have good days here. It’s up and down—just like any racing is. It’s hard. This is a true character test. We did it last year and were pretty good.
“It’s fun. It’s dirt racing.”
The Winamac, Ind., native was one of 102 drivers looking to make his mark behind the wheel of a UMP Modified in the DIRTcar Nationals this week. The field is full of veterans, such as 77-year-old Buzzie Reutimann, three-time defending DIRTcar Nationals champion Nick Hoffman, former NASCAR Cup drivers David Stremme, David Reutimann, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace, along with Truck Series champion Matt Crafton and Xfinity Series standout Justin Allgaier.
Haley showed speed the first two nights in the No. 11 Leaf Filter modified. He finished third in Tuesday night’s feature after winning his qualifier and heat race. On Wednesday night, Haley wrecked his car, finished 11th in his qualifier and didn’t transfer to the feature. On Thursday, the chassis of the backup car gave him fits. He ran seventh in Heat 1 then finished 15th in B-Main 2.
Despite assistance from Lethal Chassis owner Stremme, the feel of the car escaped the young driver. But the experience of the event wasn’t lost on Haley.
“Hanging out with Kenny (Wallace) is fun,” Haley said. “I’m pretty good buddies with Justin Allgaier. Obviously, running a Lethal Chassis, me and David are pretty close, and the families are close, too. I just like the dirt racing.
“Probably the biggest thing is I roll out there and I like to think there aren’t too many people that know who I am. But I think a lot more people know who I am out there than I’d like to think. I changed the paint scheme up. Last year everyone knew who I was in the (No.) 24, because I had a few years in it.
“This is a new scheme. Leaf Filter came on board to help out my modified program which means a lot. So did Kaulig Racing, they’re helping a good bit, too. I grew up dirt racing. It stings some times, but when you have good nights it’s rewarding.”
For now, Haley’s stock car plans are not at the forefront—at least until next Friday, when he makes his debut with Kaulig Racing in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series at Daytona International Speedway. Haley cut his teeth in the K&N Pro Series, where he won the 2016 title, then trucks with GMS Racing. He ran a limited schedule in 2017 before turning 18. Last year, Haley posted three truck wins, transferred to the Championship 4 round of the Playoffs and finished third in the final standings.
Haley’s biggest challenge entering the Xfinity Series? Unlearning the bad habits he picked up racing trucks.
“Trucks are so downforce-dependent, you can really yank them around,” Haley said. “For a rookie driver, it doesn’t take that much talent...to make a lap in a truck really isn’t that hard. At most tracks you’re just wide open.
“So getting into an Xfinity car with more horsepower and less downforce will be more difficult. Longer races, brand new team—and a newer team in NASCAR, but it’s growing. I will have teammates (Ross Chastain at Daytona, Chicagoland and Texas), but one of the greatest challenges was getting to know everybody’s names. The shop is an hour away, but I’m there five days a weeks from 7 to 4 every day. It’s a small team, and I like that small team kind of feel.”
On Tuesday, Kaulig announced it was promoting crew chief/GM Chris Rice to president of the company and recruiting Nick Harrison to oversee the No. 11 team as crew chief. Haley calls Rice “a hoot” and adds the two have been training together in the off-season. Harrison spent the last five years at Richard Childress Racing, with which Kaulig Racing shares a technical alliance. Kaulig is based at the RCR campus in Welcome, N.C.
“We have a great group of guys at Kaulig Racing, and I feel like I have really hit the ground running,” Harrison said in a release on Tuesday. “Justin is a proven winner in the truck series, and we plan on making a run for the title with him.
“He is fun to work with and has a great attitude. We had a great test in Atlanta, and we plan on building from that and going down to Daytona to start this season off with a bang.”
Haley is thrilled that Harrison will be leading his rookie campaign. Harrison worked for Braun Racing, owned by Haley’s uncle Todd Braun, and is well-acquainted with the family.
“I’m really glad that we could bring Nick into the program,” Haley said. “We’ve been buddies for a few years. He’s been part of my posse before. He knows the RCR side of things—and we’re an RCR-dependent team. We’re on the campus over there. He knows everything from the SIM and how it works. He knows the people.
“Bringing him in will help build Kaulig performance-wise. He just has a ton of experience. We tested at Atlanta a few weeks ago and it was really successful. Compared to some Junior (JR Motorsports) cars, we were very fast. It’s been pretty positive so far. Just got to go to Daytona and see how we stack up there.”
Haley is not going into Daytona blind. He was fortunate to run three Xfinity races with GMS last year, including Daytona in July. On the last lap, Haley passed Kyle Larson for the ostensible win coming to the checkered flag in overtime. However, NASCAR penalized Haley for dipping below the yellow line. He was demoted to 18th, the last driver on the lead lap.
“Superspeedways have been good to me,” Haley said. “I’ve only junked it once—and that was at Talladega in a truck. The last time I ran Daytona, I won. Everyone thinks I won, except for a few guys in the officiating tower.
“But it’s all good. It’s all fun and games. It’s racing. I take it seriously, but at the end of the day, I’m just thankful for what I have and the opportunities I’ve been given. I’d love to win, not just for myself but for all of Kaulig Racing. They have one top-five in the history of their existence. Matt Kaulig and everyone has been great. It’s a great group of guys. To get them their first win is definitely our goal.”
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