Justin Haley, who returned to Spire Motorsports, the team with which he captured his and the team’s first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona International Speedway in 2019, will not return as the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet in 2026.
On Tuesday, Spire Motorsports announced that the organization and driver will part ways at the end of the current season, one where the pairing has produced subpar results in comparison to the team’s other two cars, driven by Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell.
As the team heads into this weekend’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, it came to terms with what was an emotionally taxing decision to split with Haley.
“This is a decision that was not taken lightly,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “Justin has been a member of the Spire family since he was a teenager. We’ve watched Justin grow from a young driver trying to make his mark in the sport to a proven winner. He helped strengthen our organization into what it is today. 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.”
Haley, 26, has registered four NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victories in addition to the weather-shortened NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona in July 2019.
Spire Motorsports re-acquired Haley in a rare driver trade with Rick Ware Racing, with seven races remaining in the 2024 season. In the trade, Spire sent Corey LaJoie to Rick Ware Racing in exchange for Haley.
Haley recorded a seventh-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, his second race back with Spire, and that amounted to the driver’s third top-10 result of the season. Many expected Haley, who gained notoriety for decent results at the struggling Rick Ware Racing team, to take a step forward with Spire Motorsports in 2025, especially when he was paired with legendary crew chief Rodney Childers.
Through the opening nine races of the season, Haley and Childers combined for just one top-10 finish, a 10th-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Childers parted ways with Spire Motorsports after the ninth race of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Ryan Sparks, the team’s competition director, has served as the interim crew chief for Haley and the No. 7 team since Childers’ departure. Haley notched a near-win third-place finish in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, but outside of that, the results have been lackluster for Haley this season.
