A new year brings new opportunities. For Justin Haley, his new opportunity is the fresh breeze of working with a top-tier team. The NASCAR star broke into the Cup Series scene back in 2019. Then, Spire Motorsports was a fledgling single-car team, and Haley wheeled the No. 77 car to 32nd and 34th place finishes in Talladega and Sonoma. However, then he made jaws drop with his Daytona victory.

After 6 years of shuffling around in lower-tier race teams with mediocre equipment, Haley is embarking on a new chapter this year. He is back to his older team – Spire is now in a more advanced situation. His new champion crew chief is working hard for Haley, acknowledging the difficulties he has faced so far.

Justin Haley is finally turning over a new leaf

His pre-Cup career was indubitably stellar. Justin Haley owns four Xfinity Series victories and clinched three Craftsman Truck Series race wins en route to the 2018 Championship 4 race. However, Haley bumped into problems while translating this success into his Cup Series career. After a moderately successful stint with Spire until the end of 2020, Haley drove for Kaulig Racing and then Rick Ware Racing. Car problems sprang up. After finishing 17th at the Circuit of the Americas race in March 2024, Haley’s No. 51 RWR Ford was disqualified for failing a weight inspection. RWR faced further issues last season, like hunting for a new crew chief, a new spotter, and a new pit crew.

However, 2025 holds a bigger and better promise for Justin Haley. Rodney Childers will be his new crew chief in the No. 7 team. Childers could not help but observe Haley’s dire situation in an interview with Kelly Crandall. “Justin’s never really had the right opportunity. He’d never even been fitted into a car the right way. For us, it’s been a huge undertaking.” Thus, Childers and his team are working hard on Haley’s car. “We’ve had to have his seats redone at Hendrick, have his belts moved, make all new seat rails, new headrest supports, new seat mounts… We have redone everything to make it absolutely perfect for him.”

Rodney Childers guided Kevin Harvick to the 2014 Cup Series title – hence the veteran knows exactly how to create a winning culture. It starts by making the driver comfortable. Childers shared how preparations are in full swing to make Justin Haley feel at home. “I think when he gets in there at the Clash, he’s going to be like holy cr-p… That’s the first step. You gotta be presentable, you gotta have what the driver perceives as the nicest car there. He appreciates to be there on every single weekend and he’s comfortable after 500 miles or 600 miles… We’re waiting for all that stuff to get made. That’s really what makes you good – paying attention to those details.”

What is more, Justin Haley comes with a golden talent. That was on full display when he achieved his first Cup Series victory.

Making the best out of it

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Although Justin Haley has not experienced good equipment or race cars, he still makes the most out of whatever he has. This was evident last year when he notched three top-ten finishes besides a 4th-place finish at the All-Star Race. During his Kaulig Racing tenure in 2023, Haley was crowned as the safest driver with just nine on-track incidents. What is more, his debut year in 2019 was a phenomenon in itself. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 race that year started smoothly until a 17-car ‘Big One’ unfolded. Fortunately, Haley could steer clear of that chaos and shot up to 11th place.

Then, as the drivers before him began to take pit stops, Haley vaulted to third, and then first. Justin Haley’s No. 77 crew chief advised him to just keep driving. Then lightning struck the track and there was a heavy downpour. Officials stopped the race, and soon enough, declared Haley as the winner. What was remarkable was how he managed to keep calm through the nervous moments. He admitted recently, “I’m a really focused driver, so I was just keyed in on what I was doing in that moment. I didn’t really have time to think about what that meant to be first.” He had the same mindset when the race was red-flagged: “I was trying to stay in race mode. If we went back racing, I needed to be focused and ready. I just didn’t relax or let the rain take away my determination.”

Evidently, Justin Haley will balance the hard work that Rodney Childers is putting up for him. As the 2025 season rolls around, will he be able to script a winning story?