Denny Hamlin Not Ready to Throw Anyone Under the Bus for the Spire-Justin Haley Divorce

Spire Motorsports announced last week that Justin Haley would part ways with the team after the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin now, states that he agrees with that decision, and painted it as an unfortunate but understandable decision.

Hamlin didn’t see eye-to-eye with the Haley-Spire partnership. And there’s reasons why. Haley, who took over the No. 7 Chevrolet from Corey LaJoie late in 2024, has struggled to find his footing this year, lagging behind teammates Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar. McDowell finished 21st in the standings, Hocevar 23rd, while Haley ended up 31st with one top-five and two top-tens, posting an average finish of 22.

Haley has been mired in 28th or worse in the standings since the 11th race of the season, and even a mid-season crew chief swap couldn’t turn things around. Whatever the cause, the chemistry simply never clicked, as per Hamlin.

“I just never saw enough out of the #7 that I was seeing in the #77 or the #71. And so I don’t know the reason for that. I don’t know the company enough to know the strengths and weaknesses. Is it leadership? Is it engineering? Is it the pit crews far worse? Or is the driver not as good as the driver as the other two? I don’t know,” the Joe Gibbs-Racing driver said.

Haley’s connection with Spire dates back to the team’s debut Cup season in 2019, when he gave them their first and only Cup victory in the summer Daytona race. Between 2019 and 2020, he made 34 starts for the organization before moving on. After stints with Kaulig Racing and Rick Ware Racing, he returned to Spire in 2024, in a move that did not work out by any means.

Spire has yet to announce who will take over the No. 7 seat next year. Weighing in on the situation, Hamlin said that while the decision was tough on Haley, the driver had shown promise in the Rick Ware car.

Hamlin continued, “So, for me, it would all be speculation and I don’t really care to throw anyone under the bus, but certainly you can’t argue that the results were not there for whatever the reason were.”

Earlier this season, Spire parted ways with Rodney Childers, the former crew chief for Kevin Harvick, after nine races atop Haley’s pit box.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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