BRISTOL, Tenn: Hailing from a dirt track racing background with the UMP Modifieds, Justin Haley was looking to use his experience to adapt to the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Food City Dirt Race.
Prepping himself to be in contention for his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory and first at Kaulig Racing, Haley spent some time on the dirt in his modified giving himself ample time to get back into a dirt driving mentality.
His commitment paid off in practice by delivering the fourth and eighth fastest times in the two practice sessions on Friday leading up to the Heat Races on Saturday to finalize the starting lineup for the second-annual dirt race at the 0.533-mile track.
Starting second in Heat Race No. 3, Haley bolted his No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the race lead on Lap 1 and never turned back.
His victory in the respective heat placed him sixth on the starting grid for his best starting spot of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season and his career.
“A great day on the dirt, the LeafFilter No. 31 team brought a fast Team Chevy,” offered Haley after the heat. “Lots of work to do tomorrow, but ready for battle with Kaulig Racing.”
Despite a muddy start to the race, Haley was able to keep his position inside the top-10, until NASCAR mandated a competition caution for teams to check the grilles and windshields less than 20 laps into the race.
As Stage 1 progressed, Haley was fighting with forward drive with his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and also believed his tires were losing the grip they needed to make an impact on the dirt.
Finishing Stage 1 in 14th, the handling worsened during Stage sliding him back to 17th at the conclusion of Stage 2.
Rain would halt the race for a short time at the end of Stage 2, allowing Haley to collect his thought and confer with his Kaulig Racing team about how to slide back forward during the third and final stage.
Haley, though, wasn’t optimistic.
“It’s not going to be good if we go back to racing,” he explained. “We are on worn-out tires. I hate to say it, but I hope it rains.”
Unfortunately for Haley, the rain stopped and racing resumed through the checkered flag.
In Stage 3, a relentless fight by the driver allowed him to drive as high as eighth but the last restart of the race worked against him and relegated the 23-year-old to a 14th place finish.
“Not the day we wanted in our No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1, but we got a good top 15 out of it. I led the team in the wrong direction for changes and got myself behind a little.
“Overall, it was a productive weekend. We got a heat race win and ran up front during stage one. I just backed myself into a corner, but I’m proud of this team’s effort.”
Sitting 25th in the Cup championship standings, Haley heads to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for Sunday’s GEICO 500 eyeing his first top-10 finish of the season.
The Winamac, Ind. native is a former winner at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, sweeping both NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2020.
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter @Grace3140.
