NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C.—Justin Haley’s ninth-place finish at Darlington Raceway last Sunday—his first top-10 finish of 2024—was quite the accomplishment.
Until someone races 400 miles in his driving shoes, describing the challenges facing the 25-year-old at Rick Ware Racing would be difficult.
Where most Cup teams compete with a rotation of seven cars in their stable, the No. 51 team only has two. But Haley is learning to do a lot with a little.
“I feel like we’ve had decent speed the last few weeks,” Haley said. “We were potentially going to get a top 10 at Kansas as well.
Haley’s 18th-place finish in the Sunflower State matched his personal best–and was a company-best result in 35 races.
“I feel like we were fast at Dover,” Haley added. “We’re just trying to apply all the resources we have to what little information we do have and trying to work towards that.
“Everyone at the shop has been pushing really hard. It’s all in the fine details. It was as capable as any of the cars I drove in the Cup Series. I don’t really know how much better we can be except for some pit road stuff. That just comes with time.”
Overall, the Ford camp performed better as a whole at Darlington than they had all season. Haley was concentrating on his own car and not paying attention to his fellow Mustang Dark Horse drivers.
However, he was encouraged by the speed displayed by the Fords—and the manufacturer’s first win of the season secured by Brad Keselowski.
Since RWR is not a tier 1 Ford organization, however, the two-car operation has to make the most of what transfer of technology they receive from Roush Fenway Keselowski.
“Obviously, RFK has been running extremely well,” Haley said. “The little information we get from RFK has helped a good bit, too.
“It’s definitely cool to see the Fords pick up. We’ve kind of been struggling, but overall I feel like our cars have handled well.”
For the first time since Haley graduated to full-time Cup competition three years ago, he is outside the top 30 in the standings.
Certainly, the team’s disqualification after failing post-race inspection at Circuit of the Americas didn’t help. Haley’s car didn’t meet the minimum post-race weight. writes off that mishap due to the lack of manpower as well as familiarity with the process within his team.
Still, Haley has worked with crew chief Chris Lawson to build consistency into the program. Haley’s result in the Goodyear 400 was the first non-superspeedway top 10 for RWR and the best finish for the company since JJ Yeley finished seventh at Atlanta Motor Speedway in July of 2023.
“It’s just another race,” said Haley not wanting to rest on his laurels. “The goal is to run that good every weekend, just keep pushing. That’s where you want to be, right?
“That’s how we should run. I feel like that’s everything we’re working towards. So honestly, now it’s on to Wilkesboro.”
Haley had posted the second-fastest lap in Open time trials with one car remaining to go before the rains came.) With qualifying rained out for the All-Star Open, Haley will start 16th based on driver points. His three avenues to running in the All-Star Race are by winning the Open, finishing second or earning the fan vote.
Haley stepped up his HaleYes! campaign by posting ‘How to vote’ videos on social media. He threw shade at Carson Hocevar on X, claiming, “It’s unfortunate my fellow competitor’s campaign had to pay for endorsements (referring to Hocevar’s use of Cameo for his All-Star marketing.
With qualifying rained out for the All-Star Open, Haley will start 16th based on driver points. His three avenues to running in the All-Star Race are by winning the Open, finishing second or earning the fan vote.
Haley stepped up his HaleYes! campaign by posting ‘How to vote’ videos on social media. He threw shade at Carson Hocevar on X claiming, “It’s unfortunate my fellow competitor’s campaign had to pay for endorsements (referring to Hocevar’s use of Cameo for his All Star marketing).
“Vote #HaleYes and do what is right. Vote early, vote often.”
All fun aside, Haley hopes to make the most of his time with RWR. While some pundits may have questioned why he made a lateral move from Kaulig Racing to RWR, the driver realizes that team owner Rick Ware had faith in Haley to improve the team’s trajectory.
“It probably took longer to get to where we are than what I would have liked,” Haley said. “But the mountain that we were climbing was probably a little taller than I anticipated. I feel like we’re in a good spot now. I feel like we’re bringing 20th place cars each and every week, which is a big improvement,\ and we can continue to improve on that.
“I’m having a blast. It’s a lot more work than I’ve probably been tasked with Monday through Friday, especially with the last race team. It was kind of hands off. You just showed up and drove. And that was it. But I enjoyed it.
“I’m at the shop almost every day for hours and hours helping. I feel like I’m doing everything I can to improve this race team and set myself up for the future. Just a lot of hours right now. It’s a lot of work and a lot of work for everyone involved.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].[table=4139]
