After not racing the first two races of the season at Daytona and Atlanta, Haley admitted there is some extra motivation for him to come out of the box strong in Martinsville.
“It’s definitely a burden (not racing the first two events), but having worked with (crew chief) Kevin Bellicourt before, it’s already been a lot easier to get acclimated to the communication and help him understand what I need. This team is pretty much like family … so you want to perform well for them just as much as I want to go out and win since I didn’t get to have a shot in the first two.”
“As far as I’m concerned, we can only go up from here.”
NASCAR also confirmed that should Haley win a race and finish in the top 20 in regular season points, they would grant a waiver to allow him to compete in the season-ending playoffs.
“The bottom line is, we’re not going to hold someone back because of age,” NASCAR spokesman Mike Forde told Race Chaser Online. “We haven’t made that call officially yet, simply because he hasn’t put himself in position to be playoff-eligible as of yet. But if he wins a race and finishes in the top 20 in points to where the team would need to submit a waiver, then we would take that under advisement and make the call at that point.”
During his long offseason, Haley has stayed busy by being very active in the race shop with his GMS crew, as well as picking up a new pastime in triathlon participation.
“Honestly, I’ve enjoyed being in the race shop, to be honest with you. Between that and picking up a new sport in triathlons, I’ve had a lot going on and had a lot of fun. I’ve gotten big into exercising, lost a bunch of weight and just tried to get my lifestyle in check so I can go out each week and be at the top of my game on the race track.”
“The triathlons are really mental, it’s a bigger mental game for me than being in the truck, honestly. And it’s a lot of running,” he laughed.
At the end of the day, though, Haley circled back to the consistency that he and the team can build going forward now that it’s one driver working with one crew on one truck.
“Because the team had to work with having (Scott) Lagasse and (Alex) Bowman in here for the first two races, obviously, we’ve got some work to do. But now, I’m here … we can all get settled in our little home and look forward to some great times the rest of the year.”
And certainly, that consistency starts with the room-lightening smile the Indiana young gun is known for carrying.
Listen to Race Chaser Online’s exclusive interview with Justin Haley at Martinsville Speedway:
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
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