April 22, 2019 | By Lee Spencer

Justin Haley celebrates 20th birthday with Cup debut at Talladega

What a gift for Justin Haley.

The Xfinity Series Rookie-of-the-Year candidate will make his Monster Energy Cup Series debut at Talladega Superspeedway on his 20th birthday, driving the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Fraternal Order of Eagles will sponsor Haley's ride. 

Haley will be the fifth driver to race for the No. 77 team since its formation this year. Peter Sospenzo is the crew chief.

“This is a dream come true,” Haley said. “I couldn’t be prouder than to make my Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut with Spire Motorsports and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The F.O.E. has supported my career since the beginning and it feels like our program will come full circle when I make my debut on NASCAR’s biggest stage this weekend at Talladega. I’m incredibly grateful to both Spire Motorsports and the F.O.E. for this opportunity. I’m excited to get on track and see what we can do.”

Haley currently pilots the No. 11 Chevy for Kaulig Racing and will run double duty this weekend. He’s 11th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings, with six top-10 finishes in the first eight races. Haley’s average finish is 10.1.

Haley nearly won the July Daytona race last year in his second NXS start. NASCAR penalized the driver for going below the yellow line and awarded Kyle Larson the victory.

“Superspeedways have been good to me,” Haley said in February. “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."

A Winamac, Indiana, native, Haley started his career in dirt racing but cut his teeth in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series where he won the NKNPE title in 2016. The following year, he graduated to the Gander Outdoors Truck Series with GMS Racing. In his second year on the truck tour, Haley won three races and transferred to the Championship 4 round before finishing third.

Haley also has competed in 16 ARCA races. He has three wins, one pole, seven top fives and 12 top 10s.