“We Really Haven’t Seen Each Other”: How Justin Haley Plans to Build Chemistry With Spire Teammates Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar

Following a challenging 2024 NASCAR Cup season, where he completed in P31 after finishing three races in top-10 — two with Rick Ware Racing and one with Spire Motorsports — Justin Haley will remain with Spire Motorsports this year. This season, he will have two new teammates he has yet to meet, but expects to encounter very soon.

In a conversation with Joseph Webber leading up to the Clash weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium, Haley discussed the dynamics of forming bonds with these new teammates. He described the team setup, saying,

“Michael is kind of like the team leader and Carson’s the young kid who’s fast. And then I’m just kind of in between… I got a good amount of experience but I’m still quite young. So yeah, we really haven’t seen each other flow through a race weekend.”

Nevertheless, Haley expressed optimism about the process of team integration, noting,

“I feel like that’s when you start getting to know your teammates… is going in the hauler debriefing. Come back to the shop on Tuesdays and having our meetings and just trying to be better as an organization. So, yeah we’ll see kind of where we land this weekend at Bowman Gray see how fast each of us are, and work off each other’s strengths and weaknesses from there.”

Last September, it was revealed that Haley and Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie would exchange roles during the 2024 Hollywood Casino 400 and subsequent races. Additionally, the Spire Motorsports team confirmed that Haley would take over LaJoie’s duties full-time in 2025.

At Talladega, Haley achieved his first top-10 finish with Spire, securing a P7-place finish. This marked Haley’s best performance of the entire season.

Haley expresses admiration for his new crew chief, Rodney Childers

When asked about the prospect of having a seasoned crew chief like Rodney Childers leading his #7 team at Spire Motorsports, Haley responded, “Rodney’s obviously won a lot of races and been super successful…”

He was impressed with Childers’ meticulous approach to race weekends and his offseason preparations, aiming for perfection in every aspect of his role. That’s precisely why Haley has been keen to absorb as much knowledge as possible, likening himself to a sponge, to make a strong start to the year.

Previously, Childers crafted a championship-caliber team from scratch at Stewart-Haas Racing, where he worked alongside the iconic Kevin Harvick. Over a decade, Childers’ strategic brilliance contributed to an impressive 37 victories, cementing his status as a potential Hall of Fame inductee.

Having not tasted victory since Harvick’s last win in August 2022 and with the previous season’s rookie Josh Berry at the helm, it will be intriguing to see how Childers utilizes Haley’s capabilities at Spire Motorsports in the forthcoming season.

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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