Justin Haley OUT at Spire Motorsports for 2026 Season

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What’s Happening?

NASCAR Cup Series veteran Justin Haley will not return to the Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 car in 2026, though he will complete the final three races of the 2025 season.

Haley, 26, joined Spire at the tail-end of the 2024 season in a driver swap that sent longtime No. 7 driver Corey LaJoie to Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51.

This was a homecoming of sorts for Haley, who won the team’s first race at Daytona International Speedway in 2019 as a part-time driver. As part of an almost complete overhaul of their lineup, Haley would be paired with veteran, championship-winning Crew Chief Rodney Childers.

Unfortunately, the team has failed to meet expectations this season, with the initial pairing of Haley and Childers lasting only nine races. While his teammates outpaced him, rumors swirled that Haley could be on his way out of Spire by year’s end, something that has now come to fruition.

According to Spire, Haley will not return to the team for a second full-time season, and, as of now, the team does not have a replacement driver to announce for the upcoming season.

In a statement from the team, Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson said in regard to Haley, “He made us winners and returned home after forging his own path in the Cup Series. Justin is the embodiment of a true racer who has quietly become a respected competitor within the NASCAR garage and will be an incredible asset to his next team.”

Throughout the latter half of the season, rumors of Haley’s status on the proverbial hot seat circled the NASCAR world, with some even suggesting he could be out before the end of the year. While he will remain in the seat for the rest of the season, the question now on the minds of fans is who will take over the car in 2026.

This opening is a surprise, as there was only one expected opening in the Cup garage this season, Daniel Suarez’s seat at Trackhouse Racing, which will be filled by rookie Connor Zilisch in 2026.

While Suarez hasn’t necessarily outpaced Haley this season, as a former Cup Series winner, the 33-year-old could be a solid short or even long-term option for Spire’s most unstable team.

This also puts Haley back on the free agent market, with seemingly no full-time Cup Series options open for the former K&N Series East Champion and multi-time Xfinity Series winner.

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Kauy Ostlien

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