The Cup Series free agent market in Silly Season is turning precarious, with more drivers than cars; one name that is on every fan’s mind is Justin Haley. But is Haley the right option for what might be the best ride left?
Many fans had tied Justin Haley to the No. 7 at Spire after the team announced that Corey Lajoie would not return. While this felt like some “fantasy booking” by fans, it gained more traction when Jordan Bianchi of the Athletic spoke about the matter on The Dale Jr Download.
Despite a win, Justin Haley’s first few years in the Cup Series with Kaulig Racing are forgetful at best. The Xfinity Series standout mustered only a 22nd and 26th place points finish with Kaulig before jumping ship to Rick Ware Racing this season.
At the time, fans considered the jump to RWR a questionable move. But Haley has manifested the best season a driver has had with the back marker team. Currently 28th in the points, many doubts about the pairing look to be gone.
It is one thing for a driver to perform well in equipment that has historically not run well. What Haley has done in that equipment is masterful: two top-tens, tied for the team’s best, and 17 lead lap finishes, the best in RWR history.
For Haley, the allure of leaving may be tied to success. Now, 26, the Cup Series has few opportunities, while the Xfinity Series is full of talent. The need to go to a team where he could compete for wins may be too much.
So what does Spire offer Haley?
Mainly two things: first, a team that wants to win and wants to win now. That has not been a secret of the team’s off-season signings—one of those being Champion Crew Chief Rodney Childers.
Many drivers would nibble at the opportunity to work with a Crew Chief who is so well respected. For Haley, who, at Kaulig’s Cup Series program, struggled to get over some developmental humps, Childers offers the ability to take his skill to the next level.
Haley and Spire have a history. For Spire, that could mean a fresh start with a familiar face. That win that Haley had? That was with Spire, the driver and team’s only Cup Series win.
Haley, who ran all but two races for the team in 2021, knows where the team was and what it could be.
Then, a part-time team, just happy to go racing, Spire is now committed to becoming a real team in the NASCAR Cup Series. Spire has created a developmental program in the Truck Series alongside the mentioned signings and firing.
In signing Haley, Spire would have a consistent veteran needing some help, Michael McDowell, a winning veteran with a winning mindset, and Carson Hocevar, an up-and-coming high-value prospect.
Last but not least, Haley may be the best free-agent Cup Series regular left. That is if he is a free agent.
Pessimism is fun, right? However, there is an honest conversation about whether Haley should or could go to Spire.
Rick Ware Racing has struggled historically. As plain as it is, with Haley’s mid-level season being the team’s best, the team should make a valiant effort to keep him.
Moreover, there is no way of knowing what Haley could do with better equipment. Although he could maintain his current speed with better equipment, there is no way of knowing until he does.
Staying in the Ford camp, Haley could have two other options available. First, Front Row Motorsports still has one spot to fill; now, a tier one team, Haley could step up with the team, similar to how FRM did with Ford.
Moreover, RFK Racing, a team from which RWR and Haley have benefitted from an alliance, could have a third entry next season. There are rumors that Kroger could bring much-needed funding for the team to do so.
Haley could be a natural fit if he wanted to stay with Ford. But for now, many fans turn their attention back to the bowtie and Spire.
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EchoPark Speedway, or Atlanta Motor Speedway, is often touted as the most exciting track on the NASCAR circuit. What was first seen as a Frankenstein experiment, Marcus Smith’s idea to turn AMS into a baby Daytona worked out in the end. We’ve gotten great race after great race and tonight was no different as fans saw Tyler Reddick power by Carson Hocevar to go two in a row to start the season.
But not everyone had a season to remember. Many drivers and teams had a season that they’d sooner forget. These are the biggest losers of the 2026 EchoPark Speedway racing weekend.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race officials rightly got blasted online by fans after they made the extremely questionable decision to put the Truck race on Saturday on the weather clock. That would have been an understandable move if circumstances were different. But they caught flak because 1.) EchoPark Speedway has lights, 2.) the weather had moved out for the weekend, and 3.)…umm…they were only 10 laps shy from the scheduled distance anyway.
Now, we know who the defenders are. The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race was slated to follow, but NASCAR has pushed races off in the past. And really, how much time would the CW have lost? Ten minutes? Twenty? If that? That, in my book, makes the NCTS officials some of the biggest losers on the weekend. They owe us fans ten more measly laps for racing!
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Of any driver currently in the Chevy ranks, none has had the support thrown behind them like Corey Day. Day, a protege of proven NASCAR champion Kyle Larson, apparently has turned some heads on the dirt scene. Makes sense, since Larson himself said that he’d rather win the Chili Bowl than the Daytona 500. But unlike other drivers, such as Connor Zilisch, who have excelled in other racing disciplines outside of NASCAR, Day’s career so far has been lukewarm at best. And his race yesterday was the epitome of a rookie race, ladened with senseless mistakes.
The incident that hurt the most was the one where he wrecked his fellow HMS/JRM teammates, Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. He simply just took them out while racing for the race lead. Though he was, somehow, able to rebound to finish the race in the 4th position, yesterday was a sloppy performance that even Corey himself acknowledges that he’d rather put behind him.
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Chastain did it again! And now, the feelings are mixed. Remember when Ross Chastain used to just send drivers willy-nilly, and it really got on fans’ nerves? Well, thankfully, he’s calmed down in recent years and has become a more respectable veteran of the sport. That is not to say that he still doesn’t have his…moments. Saturday night at the O’Reilly Auto Parts race, Ross Chastain, going for the win, entered turn 1 and sent leader Austin Hill.
Hill was the overwhelming favorite to win this race, and fans have grown sick of him. So, really, this was a welcome return to form for Chastain, a version of him that used to be loathed by fans. Thus, while fans might have won out by Chastain doing what he does best and slaying Austin Hill, the RCR team, and really, anyone who has Chastain in their rearview mirror in the closing laps, are the real losers this weekend.
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There were a couple of drivers who ended 2025 on a sour note and were looking to turn things around and start 2026 strong. One of those has to be Josh Berry and his entire Wood Brothers team. After floundering around with Harrison Burton for a few seasons, the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford got the shot in the arm that they needed with a new crew chief and Josh Berry as their new driver. They led a bunch of laps at Atlanta in 2025, only for a wreck with 10 laps to go to take them out of contention. Not to worry, though: they followed it up with a win at Las Vegas.
But since that win, the team suffered a steep decline heading into the summer months. By the time the postseason rolled around, they had the single worst Playoff performance in history with three straight last-place finishes. Though he had a promising start to the season with a 9th-place run in the Daytona 500, it was the same old same old tonight. Berry showed some speed in the first stage but ultimately crashed after Christopher Bell forced the issue in the beginning of Stage 2. It’s a familiar routine for the Wood Brothers. Yet another last-place finish. That makes them one of the biggest losers of the weekend. If only they could have capitalized.
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This one’s a tired subject, so I won’t dwell on it too long. Kyle Busch’s late career decline at Richard Childress Racing should be studied. Though he showed speed early on, it was yet again a single-car spin that ended his day prematurely. Granted, he didn’t spin completely on his own. He was tagged from behind by Noah Gragson. But, that was after he checked up twice and recklessly pulled up in front of him in a hole that was barely there. Yet another disappointing outing for Rowdy Nation.
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The checkered flag has flown in the second race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Season. And, at the end of the day, it was Tyler Reddick who went back-to-back to win at EchoPark Speedway. Tonight, Reddick became the sixth NASCAR Cup Series driver to win the first two races of the season. He is the first since NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth did it to kick off the 2009 season.
But, of course, Reddick wasn’t the only one to have a great start to the season. Several drivers leave Atlanta with a great points day, including Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, and Ryan Blaney. Here are the highlights of tonight’s race:
From an awful showing in the 2025 Playoffs to yet another last-place finish, Josh Berry’s 2026 season is off to a rough start. Today, he got together with Ty Gibbs after Gibbs had an awful start to the year last year. The No. 54 was able to turn it around later in the season, though. But, for their 2026 outing, there’s a lot left to be desired. Check it out.
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Kyle Busch’s 2025 season was abysmal. But, after he put his No. 8 RCR Chevy on the pole for the 2026 Daytona 500, things seemed to be looking up. He smartly survived last week by lying back on the last lap and safely navigating through the crash, finishing 15th. And he was a contender early in this race. However, late, Kyle Busch continued his dismal legacy at RCR by spinning after contact with Noah Gragson. His day ended prematurely. Check it out:
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We got our first big crash of the race at Lap 224 when both Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano got loose in front of the field. You can read all about that incident with the link below:
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Things started to get real for the NASCAR Cup Series drivers as we got inside 40 laps to go. We got our first Big One of the afternoon at Lap 224. It was triggered as the field came out of Turn 4 and entered the dogleg. Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, both whose cars were upset by the dirty air, got together. Logano was able to scoot on virtually unscathed. However, Hamlin turned in front of the pack, collecting several stars and heavy hitters. Here’s what happened:
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