In the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr did not hold back when talking about Spire Motorsports driver Justin Haley’s performance during the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Entering the season, hopes were high for Haley. However, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained on Tuesday’s episode of the Dale Jr Download, this hype has fallen dramatically, making Haley appear as the weak link of the three-car team.
“Justin Haley was a good free agent in this sport… He drove for Rick Ware and did some pretty curious, solid runs in that car. And, he has leveraged that into this opportunity at Spire. But since he’s been there, it’s been awful. It has been bad.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt even went on to say, “I felt like that [No. 7 team] had the potential to be the best Spire car.”
Now, there are a few factors that could have contributed to Haley’s fallout. After all, he was on a new team with a new Crew Chief and former Cup Series champion, Rodney Childers.
Childers, the former long-time Crew Chief for Kevin Harvick, made the jump to Spire this past off-season and, teaming up with a resurgent Haley, looked to take the team to a new level this year. But the two seemingly failed to click early on this year, and ultimately, just nine races into the season, Spire and Childers parted ways.
Neither side gave an exact reason for the split, but most attribute his departure to only further hurting Haley’s 2025 outings. Earnhardt agrees that this departure, one that would affect any driver in Haley’s position, has definitely played into the No. 7 team’s poor performance this season.
“I think that derailed Haley a little bit,” Earnhardt said. “Anytime you have a Crew Chief change mid-season, it’s not awesome, and it hasn’t seemed to have made Haley’s deal much different.”
Around this time last season, Haley was the talk of the town in NASCAR Silly Season. The former long-time staple of Kaulig Racing departed the team following the 2023 season and shockingly went to backmarker Rick Ware Racing for the 2024 season.
Despite this apparent downgrade, Haley outperformed all expectations in that car and proved to be a viable option for any team looking for a refreshed look in 2025. This hype got to the point where even diehard Hendrick Motorsports fans were calling for Haley to take over duties for Alex Bowman in the No. 48 for this season.
Ultimately, Spire Motorsports, as part of a flurry of changes this past silly season, swapped long-time driver Corey LaJoie for Haley during the playoffs. Yet, seemingly in better equipment, Haley is barely improving on his stats from the 2024 season.
This performance is almost as shocking as that of former Spire Motorsports driver Zane Smith, who had a similar start to his time with the team in 2024. In his case, however, the former Truck Series Champion turned a major corner during the summer; perhaps his former teammate Haley can do so as the 2025 Cup Series season rolls on.
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