Justin Haley had stopped waiting for the phone to ring. He was busy elsewhere, chasing data on springs and chassis, building something new from the ground up. Then, on Tuesday, it rang.
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“Yeah, it’s all good. Obviously, I got a lot of starts in the Next Gen car and had a good run here last year with them. So, yeah, just found out Tuesday, obviously, like everyone else. And, yeah, good opportunity. Appreciate Jeff Dickerson and everyone at Spire for calling me, I guess,” Haley told Steven Taranato via X
Obviously, it’s a bit of an awkward situation. But, yeah, try to make the most of it and feel good. I feel thankful and, you know, really, honestly, just super thankful to be driving in a Cup car again. Obviously, I haven’t been in one since last year. So, yeah, just really grateful for the opportunity.”
The call came from Spire Motorsports, and it carried a reason nobody at the organization wanted. Carson Hocevar has been suspended for the Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leaving the No. 77 Chevrolet without a driver for the season finale. Haley, who has not been in a Cup car since last year, will step in.”
The vacancy traces back to Martinsville, where Hocevar repeatedly slowed in front of Austin Cindric, and contact damaged the No. 2 Ford of the Team Penske driver. NASCAR fined Hocevar $100,000 and docked him 25 points for violating its behavioral conduct rules. Spire then went further, announcing his suspension for the finale and creating the opening Haley now fills.
He arrives with plenty of Next Gen experience, including a strong run at Homestead with the team last year. That history matters on a weekend when he had only days of notice, having learned of the opening on Tuesday along with everyone else.
Haley’s history with Spire runs deeper than most. In 2019, he gave the organization its first NASCAR Cup victory, winning a rain-shortened race at Daytona International Speedway.
He stayed on in the seasons that followed, returned in 2024 following an arrangement involving Rick Ware Racing and Corey LaJoie, and ran a full-time Cup schedule with Spire in 2025.
The team he is rejoining, though, is not the one he left. Hocevar and Daniel Suarez each won during the 2026 season, a measure of how far the operation has climbed. Haley was quick to credit the work behind it.
“Yeah, I guess that’s cool, but yeah, just, again, grateful for the opportunity. They obviously have done a great job, done a lot of good things and correct things to get to where they are.”
Making it happen took more than a phone call. Haley’s NASCAR Truck Series commitments with Kaulig Racing meant several parties had to agree, and he singled out Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice for allowing him to take on the extra workload. Spire’s leadership earned its own thanks.
Kaulig work comes first
Even with a NASCAR Cup ride on the table, Haley’s weekend does not start in a Chevrolet. He is helping Kaulig Racing build its RAM program, and Homestead offers a last chance to learn about the team’s new equipment before the offseason.
Kaulig has brought a new Celsius-sponsored RAM truck, which makes Friday’s practice session especially valuable.
The problem Kaulig is trying to solve is consistency. Earlier this season, differences from one truck to the next made it hard to repeat strong runs, even when a single chassis produced a good result.
With the newer trucks proving more alike, the team can compare setups and make changes that mean something. Haley noted that the longer practice session also gives the team room to swap springs and test different configurations, data that could shape next season.
It is a modest-sounding goal, but it is how programs get built: one set of data at a time, with a new season waiting on the other side of the weekend.
That focus helps explain his calm about Sunday. Haley had, in his own words, already settled into his situation before the call came.
“I kind of was hopeful that I’d get in a Cup car again, but I kind of made peace with the situation and actually became really content and happy building this program here with RAM and Kaulig.”
Rather than treat the start as a chance to prove something, he plans to enjoy it with crew chief Luke Lambert and send Spire into the offseason with as much momentum as possible.
The circumstances may be awkward, as Haley admits. But he returns to the place where he once made NASCAR history, while still building something new at Kaulig, and he clearly does not intend to take either for granted.