NASCAR drivers switching teams is inevitable, unless the name is Jimmie Johnson. Not many have been so loyal to one team that they stayed with them for their entire career. In fact, it is a general acceptance that the drivers will come and go. In the case of Justin Haley, the 22-year-old is leaving Spire Motorsports to join Kaulig Racing in 2022.
Following the final race of the 2021 season at Phoenix, Spire Motorsports decided to roast Haley. As it turns out, the driver discovered a small banner that read, ‘Later, Traitor‘. Interestingly, Haley took it in stride and thanked the team for the ‘kind note’ before he departed.
Thx for the kind note, love u 2 @SpireMotorsport 😆 pic.twitter.com/BYsr6zuzyw
— Justin Haley (@Justin_Haley_) November 7, 2021
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Next year, Spire Motorsports will field Corey LaJoie in a single car entry. Meanwhile, Corey’s crew chief Ryan Sparks tweeted, “Fun working with ya bud, in 312 laps you are dead to us! Haha jk…kinda! Good luck next year!”. With that, fans too wished Haley luck on his future endeavours. All this was while they enjoyed the banter between the driver and the team.
What to expect from Justin Haley in 2022?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
In essence, the driver is reuniting with Kaulig Racing, having raced for them since 2019 in the Xfinity Series. Earlier, he competed for the Cup Series outfit at the Talladega Superspeedway this year. On that occasion, he recorded a fine 16th place, though the team’s best finish came at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Over there, AJ Allmendinger snatched a shock win against all odds.
He followed it up with a Top 5 at Circuit of the Americas and 7th at the Daytona road course. Meanwhile, Kaz Grala, another Kaulig Racing Driver, has a best finish of 6th, which came at the Talladega Superspeedway.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Without a doubt, those incredible performances have laid out the building blocks of Kaulig Racing’s success in the Cup Series. So the outfit is fielding Haley and AJ Allmendinger for the new season, though the latter is sharing his ride.
READ MORE: Kaulig Racing Celebrates Halloween With Holiday-Themed Liveries for Justin Haley and Teammates