Because of Indiana’s deep ties to racing with local dirt tracks across the state and the 111-year-old Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it comes as little surprise every time Indiana produces another driver who races in a prominent national series.
But because of the cultural significance of racing in the Hoosier state, it is surprising when a Hoosier slips out of the state and into the national motorsports spotlight with little fanfare.
Justin Haley, a self-described underdog and “internal” race car driver, prefers it that way.
“I’ve always been the kind of guy that doesn’t focus on anything externally,” he said. “I’m pretty internal, and I’m just focused on me and my team. I don’t even have social media. I have to log on to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram actually on a web browser every once in a while to post something. I’m that guy that doesn’t have social media. I stay off them and stick to myself. It’s where I find my happiness.”
Haley, a native of Winamac, Indiana, has quietly become one of the top competitors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season in his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet by what he considers to be an unconventional route.
The 21-year-old started racing quarter-midgets after jumping in his cousin’s car and falling in love with the speed and feel of the small machines. He got his start at the Kokomo Quarter Midget Club in Kokomo, Indiana, at age 9 and quickly ascended into the grassroots level of NASCAR.
He left his northern Indiana hometown in 2014 to pursue NASCAR at age 15. He raced part-time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East division, followed by two full-time seasons in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, he won two races, finished in the top 10 in every race and won the series championship.
By 2017, Haley was running a strong NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series schedule, and in 2018 he ran the full season and scored three wins, nine top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. Last year, he competed as a NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie. While he didn’t splash onto the scene, he scored four top-five and 20 top-10 finishes to round out a consistent first season.
Haley may not have become an instant NASCAR Xfinity Series star, and he may still get overlooked from time to time because he doesn’t drive for a big-name organization, doesn’t have big-time sponsor dollars and has yet to win in the series. But he’s used to that.
“I’m just trying to make a name for myself,” Haley said. “I’ve always looked at myself as an underdog. It’s a little bit harder for me. I didn’t take quite a conventional route, I don’t have a last name to cling onto, I don’t have a dad that raced or a grandpa that raced or anything like that.
“It’s a little bit harder for me. I do find it to be a bit of a struggle, and obviously I’ve proven myself through any series I’ve been in.”
If he hadn’t already, Haley made a name for himself last year in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway.
A pit strategy call in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on the Fourth of July weekend resulted in Haley leading the field in his Spire Motorsports Chevrolet as rain fell on the Florida track. With no sign of rain letting up, NASCAR declared Haley the winner. He joined an exclusive club of Indiana natives to win in NASCAR’s top level, a list that includes retired and current stars such as Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.
The win offered Haley a chance to introduce an “underdog” to the motorsports world.
He backed up his Daytona performance this February with a 13th-place finish in the Daytona 500 in Kaulig Racing’s first-ever NASCAR Cup Series start.
Haley then drove straight into his second Xfinity Series season, where he already is on track to outpace his 2019 season. Through eight races, Haley has three top-five finishes, one less than all of 2019, and he has only finished outside the top 10 three times.
Before the NASCAR season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Haley’s worst finish was 12th. Upon returning May 21 at Darlington Raceway, Haley finished a disappointing 10th after missing the setup. At the following two races at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, Haley was running up front, but he was caught in others’ wrecks. While the results may not tell the story, Haley’s confidence is growing with each competitive run.
“At the end of the day for a young guy like me, I want to win, but at the same point I went to Bristol and proved myself,” he said. “I proved that I can run up front with a car that is that good, and I can be aggressive and go for the lead and lead laps. I just feel like if I can be included as one of the top competitors and be able to compete up front every week, I think that it’s just going to be much better to move up to the Cup Series someday. I feel like this is my best opportunity.”
Last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Haley’s teammate Allmendinger grabbed Kaulig Racing its first Xfinity Series win of 2020 while Haley finished a season-best third. Haley said the performance gives him the confidence to believe his No. 11 team is one of the top-five teams in the series.
As the NASCAR season continues through June, Haley and his teammates have turned their attention to the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard when the Xfinity Series will compete in the first-ever stock car road course race at IMS on Saturday, July 4 on NBC.
Haley grew up about two hours north of Indianapolis and has fond memories of visiting the Racing Capital of the World as a fan. Haley also vividly remembers sitting in class in elementary and middle school while watching Indianapolis 500 practice.
With the personal significance of Indianapolis, Haley’s knack for road course racing and the advantage of having a road course “ace” in Allmendinger on his team, Haley said it’s important for Kaulig Racing to be ready to race on the 2.439-mile road course, which will be part of the historic NASCAR-INDYCAR tripleheader weekend.
“Having AJ Allmendinger as a teammate definitely helps, and I’m kind of a road course guy myself somehow or another,” Haley said. “NASCAR got some in-car footage, and you can use their geometry and telemetry from the test to use (to prepare for the race). I’m super-excited. I like road course racing.”
Last year, in Haley’s first time competing at the historic racetrack, he drove a paint scheme that honored his grandfather to a fifth-place finish in the Indiana 250 on the oval.
Haley aspires to one day race on the 2.5-mile oval again in the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records, or even in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge should the stars align. Indianapolis has always been at the top of his mind.
Even if he wasn’t on the top of everyone else’s mind.
