HAMPTON, Ga. – The box score may not have showed it, but Justin Haley and Kaulig Racing had a confidence-building run during last weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener that they’re hoping to translate into success at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Haley qualified fourth and won the opening stage at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway, running inside the top 10 for most of the day before fading to 17th late in the going as the field strung out single-file.
Despite the end result, Haley left Daytona with a belief that he and his team are capable of “some special things.”
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in our equipment coming off of Daytona, and I think Kaulig Racing is one of the more overlooked teams in the Xfinity Series to begin with,” Haley told SPEED SPORT. “We have a strong alliance with RCR and we have ECR power under the hood, so those are both positives. We qualified really well at Daytona and I think it’s only a sign of more good things to come, I really do.
“I’ve been really impressed with where we’re at so far and think we have a great shot of continuing that momentum this weekend.”
Make no mistake, however, Haley still views his team as an underdog group in the Xfinity Series.
It’s a position he relishes, having already been in similar straights when he made his playoff run in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series last fall with GMS Racing.
“I love being the underdog,” Haley smiled. “If you’re not living in that space, then you’re looked at as the top dog and there’s an expectation to go out and win. I’d much rather be the dark horse, and I believe that Kaulig is one of the dark horse teams in the Xfinity Series. They have race-winning equipment, even though it hasn’t shown in the past few seasons, and I’m really confident in everyone they have around me.
“I believe we’ll go out there and win some races; I’ve been trying to tell everyone that this team is the team to watch and that we will be the team to beat in some of the races this season,” he added. “Matt Kaulig has put so much into this operation, and at times I still like being overlooked, but sometimes I wish that this team had a few more eyes on it already … because it does deserve the attention.”
Haley is hoping that attention starts coming this weekend at Atlanta, a track that is slick and slippery, much like the dirt modifieds he has taken to running in recent months away from his NASCAR duties.
“Atlanta is one of the better tracks on the schedule, in my opinion, because the surface is worn out … but I don’t know how an Xfinity car is going to race here yet because I’ve only tested here,” noted Haley. “I’m looking forward to this weekend. I honestly wish it was raining like it looked like it was going to, because if practice was rained out then we’d have a leg up and be a step ahead of everyone else.
“When it comes down to it, you just have to go out and feel out the track, and I feel like Nick Harrison and everyone at Kaulig Racing have given us really fast race cars already,” Haley continued. “Our test went super well, especially for my first time running an Xfinity car at a mile-and-a-half track. I’m pretty new in that respect, but I’m not too worried about that.”
All the way around, it’s a fresh look for both Haley and Kaulig Racing this season, with the two sides hoping to convert their new situation into fast success at NASCAR’s second-highest level.
Their definition of success includes race wins, something Haley believes is “100 percent achievable” as he and the team get more comfortable together.
“There’s a bunch of new here, and I think it’s all working together really well already,” Haley said. “All the puzzle pieces are starting to fit together and click well for us. This is a smaller team, and I’m a small-team guy; it’s the type of situation that I’ve always felt comfortable in, but I want to get them wins. That’s the goal and they’ve shown that they’ve been capable of that in the past few seasons.
“Our mission is to win. We want to prove that we can break down that door (to victory lane) and I’m ready to get started, for sure.”
