Justin Haley Bio
Justin Christmann Haley (born April 28, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Kaulig Racing, where he drives the No. 16 Ram 1500. He is best known for capturing the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in only his third career NASCAR Cup Series start, a result that cemented his place among the rare drivers to win in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.
Born and raised in Winamac, Indiana, Haley began racing Quarter Midgets at the age of nine and rose quickly through the short-track and stock car ladder. He also owns Darkhorse Racecars, a chassis manufacturer focused on dirt late models and dirt modifieds.
Early Life and Background
Justin Haley was born on April 28, 1999, in Winamac, Indiana, where he grew up surrounded by the strong short-track culture of the American Midwest. He is the nephew of Todd Braun, owner of Braun Motorsports, a connection that helped introduce him to competitive stock car racing at an early age.
Haley began his racing career in the summer of 2008 at the Kokomo Quarter Midget Club when he was just nine years old. Between 2009 and 2011, he competed in the Indiana State Series and won the 2011 Light 160 State Championship, building a foundation that prepared him for the move into stock cars. His family continued to support his progression from quarter midgets into full-bodied race vehicles.
He is one of four children, with two younger sisters and an older brother, and he is the son of John Haley and Melissa Braun-Dennis. Haley eventually settled in North Carolina to be closer to the heart of the NASCAR industry.
Path to NASCAR
Haley first appeared on the national radar in the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East. In 2014, he ran three K&N Pro Series East races and posted a best finish of seventh at Dover International Speedway. The following season, he joined HScott Motorsports to contest the Pro Series East full-time, campaigning for Rookie of the Year honors.
In 2016, Haley captured his first Pro Series East victory at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and went on to win the series championship after finishing inside the top ten in all fourteen races, the only driver in series history to accomplish that feat. He also added an ARCA Menards Series win that season at Springfield, giving him momentum heading into the NASCAR national series ladder.
Justin Haley Career
Early Career (2015-2016)
Haley made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in 2015 at Bristol Motor Speedway with Braun Motorsports, driving the No. 32 Chevrolet Silverado to a fourteenth-place finish. A late-season crash at Martinsville briefly slowed his progress, but a seventh-place run at Phoenix International Raceway later that year gave him his first top-ten result at the national level.
His 2016 K&N Pro Series East championship, combined with select ARCA starts, established Haley as one of the top young talents in the country. On December 9, 2016, GMS Racing announced that Haley would drive the No. 24 truck for the team beginning in 2017, setting the stage for his full-time national series career.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Breakthrough (2017-2018)
Haley moved to GMS Racing for the 2017 Truck Series season but had to sit out the first two races at Daytona and Atlanta because of NASCAR’s minimum-age rule. Despite the slow start, he finished twelfth in the final standings and showed the pace that GMS expected from its young prospect.
The 2018 season marked Haley’s real breakthrough. He earned his first career Truck victory at Gateway in June, locking himself into the playoffs for the first time. Two more wins followed, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Texas Motor Speedway, allowing him to reach the playoff finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished eighth and ended the year third in points, his best career championship result in the series.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Breakthrough (2018-2021)
Haley made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in June 2018 at Iowa Speedway with GMS Racing, finishing twelfth while filling in for Spencer Gallagher. A controversial near-win followed at Daytona that summer, when NASCAR ruled he had dropped below the yellow line to make a last-lap pass and awarded the victory to Kyle Larson.
On December 1, 2018, Haley signed a multi-year deal to drive the No. 11 full-time for Kaulig Racing in 2019, replacing Ryan Truex. He ended 2019 with twenty top-tens and a twelfth-place points finish. In June 2020, he captured his first Xfinity victory at Talladega Superspeedway, becoming the 32nd driver to win a race in all three NASCAR national touring series. In 2021, Haley won the Wawa 250 at Daytona over teammate A. J. Allmendinger by 0.023 seconds and advanced to the Round of 8, finishing sixth in the final standings.
NASCAR Cup Series (2019-Present)
Haley debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series in April 2019 with Spire Motorsports at Talladega Superspeedway. Just three starts later, he produced one of the biggest surprises of the season by winning the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona under rain and lightning, inheriting the lead when leaders pitted before the red flag and giving Spire its first-ever Cup victory.
Kaulig Racing brought Haley on for the 2020 Daytona 500, where he made the field as the fastest non-charter qualifier. He continued to split time between Kaulig and Spire before Kaulig announced in 2021 that Haley would race full-time in the Cup Series in 2022. He drove the No. 31 for Kaulig from 2022 through mid-2023, nearly winning the inaugural Chicago Street Course race before being passed by Shane van Gisbergen in the closing laps.
In July 2023, Rick Ware Racing announced Haley would join the team on a multi-year deal beginning in 2024. His best 2024 results came at Darlington Raceway and Gateway, where he earned back-to-back ninth-place finishes. In September 2024, Spire Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing swapped drivers, and Haley returned to Spire for the final stretch of 2024 before moving to the No. 7 full-time for Spire in 2025. On October 14, 2025, Spire announced that the team and Haley would part ways after the season.
Kaulig Racing Truck Era (2026)
On October 29, 2025, Kaulig Racing announced that Haley would rejoin the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2026, driving a Ram 1500 for the organization’s new factory-backed Ram Trucks program. The move returns him to a series where he previously earned three career wins and a third-place championship finish in 2018.
Driving Style and Strengths
Haley is widely regarded as a strong superspeedway and intermediate-track racer, with most of his victories coming on drafting-heavy ovals such as Daytona, Talladega, and Texas. He has shown a sharp feel for fuel-mileage races, late-race restarts, and pit strategy, skills that helped him capture the rain-shortened 2019 Daytona win. His pairing with crew chief Trent Owens at Kaulig Racing produced consistent top-ten runs and playoff appearances.
Notable Races and Milestones
His signature victory remains the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, where he led under caution as lightning forced the race to end. The 2020 Unhinged 300 at Talladega made him the 32nd driver to win in all three NASCAR national series, and his 2021 Wawa 250 win at Daytona by 0.023 seconds over Allmendinger stands as one of the closest finishes of his career.
Justin Haley Career Wins
Across NASCAR’s three national touring series, Justin Haley has built a diverse win list that spans ovals of every shape. His most famous victory came on a rain-shortened afternoon at Daytona in 2019, but he has also triumphed at Talladega, Texas, Gateway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and on the Daytona Xfinity stage.
Craftsman Truck Series Highlights
Haley has three career Truck Series wins. He first won at Gateway in 2018, then added victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Texas Motor Speedway later that same season, qualifying for the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and finishing third in points, his best career championship result.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Highlights
In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Haley has four career wins. His first came in the 2020 Unhinged 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, a victory that made him the 32nd driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series. His most recent Xfinity win came in the 2021 Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway, where he edged teammate A. J. Allmendinger by 0.023 seconds.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond the national series, Haley captured the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship with two wins and twenty-five top-tens. He also earned three ARCA Menards Series victories, with his first coming at Springfield in 2016 and his most recent at Pocono Raceway in 2017.
| Series | Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | 3 | 36 | 1 |
| NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series | 4 | 69 | 0 |
| NASCAR Cup Series | 1 | 18 | 0 |
| ARCA Menards Series East | 2 | 25 | 2 |
| ARCA Menards Series | 3 | 12 | 1 |
Justin Haley Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Haley comes from a family with deep ties to motorsports. His uncle, Todd Braun, owns Braun Motorsports, the team that gave Haley his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opportunity in 2015. He is the son of John Haley and Melissa Braun-Dennis, and he has two younger sisters and one older brother.
Personal Life
Haley lives in North Carolina and owns Darkhorse Racecars, a chassis manufacturer focused on dirt late model and dirt modified race cars. He is married to Haley Mottinger, whom he wed on November 17, 2023.
2025 Season Performance
Haley began the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with Spire Motorsports, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet full-time after swapping into the seat from Rick Ware Racing late in 2024. His strongest result of the year came at Talladega Superspeedway, where he brought the No. 7 home in seventh place, his best finish of the season. He ended the year thirty-first in the final Cup Series standings.
On January 29, 2025, the team announced that Haley would also return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for selected races, driving the No. 7 truck for Spire Motorsports at Daytona. On October 14, 2025, Spire confirmed that Haley and the team would part ways at the end of the Cup season. A month later, on October 29, 2025, Kaulig Racing announced that Haley would drive the No. 16 Ram 1500 for its new factory-backed Ram Trucks program in the Craftsman Truck Series starting in 2026, setting up a fresh chapter for the Indiana native.
