NASCAR's only disqualified driver of 2024 is switching teams

Speaking about his NASCAR Cup Series future a few months ago, Justin Haley reiterated that he was committed to continuing with Rick Ware Racing beyond the 2024 season.

Haley left Kaulig Racing after spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons competing full-time for the team and took over behind the wheel of a No. 51 Ford that did not have a full-time driver after Cody Ware was suspended toward the beginning of last year.

The 25-year-old Winamac, Indiana native has undoubtedly performed at a level high enough to justify a move to a more competitive team in 2024, and despite having said he wanted to remain at his current team for as long as team owner Rick Ware wanted him, he is indeed set to switch garages.

And he doesn't have to wait until the 2025 season to do so.

Starting with this Sunday afternoon's playoff race at Kansas Speedway, Haley is set to return to Spire Motorsports, where he secured his first career win – and the team's first ever top 27 finish – in just his third career start. He won the summer race at Daytona International Speedway back in 2019.

The 2019 season was Spire Motorsports' first in the Cup Series, and they have become much more competitive since, securing eight more top five finishes, including a runner-up finish at Nashville Superspeedway with Zane Smith back in June, and 12 additional top 10 finishes.

It was recently revealed that Corey LaJoie would not be back with the team in 2025, and LaJoie is the driver whom Haley is set to replace behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet. LaJoie is set to move to Rick Ware Racing to complete the 2024 season, though his 2025 plans have not yet been confirmed.

Spire Motorsports' 2025 lineup is set to consist of Haley, current Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell, and Carson Hocevar. Like LaJoie, Smith will also not be back with the team next year, and he remains a top candidate to replace McDowell at Front Row Motorsports.

Justin Haley's under-the-radar impressive 2024 season

Not much attention is typically paid to a driver sitting in 32nd place in the point standings with two top 10 finishes in 29 races, but Haley has certainly changed that.

Prior to Haley's arrival, Rick Ware Racing had never had an entry finish higher than 33rd place in the owner standings, and they had also never finished a non-superspeedway race inside the top 10.

That's where Haley's disqualification comes into play.

Haley is actually the only driver to be disqualified from a Cup Series race so far in 2024, as he was stripped of his 17th place finish at Circuit of the Americas back in March due to the fact that the No. 51 Ford failed to meet post-race minimum weight.

Without that disqualification, he would be sitting all the way up in 28th place in the standings, ahead of the driver who replaced him at Kaulig Racing (Daniel Hemric) as well as two of the three Spire Motorsports drivers.

In fact, he would actually be in 27th place in total points scored, since Wood Brothers Racing's Harrison Burton has technically scored fewer points despite qualifying for the playoffs with a victory at Daytona.

Additionally, Haley recorded two top 10 finishes, both in non-superspeedway races, in a three-race stretch earlier this season, finishing in ninth place at Charlotte Motor Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Outperforming his equipment is a significant understatement.

By comparison, Rick Ware Racing's No. 15 entry sits in a distant last place in the owner standings with a point total of nearly 120 points shy of Haley's No. 51 entry, even with Haley's disqualification. It has just one top 10 finish this year, that being Cody Ware's fourth place effort in the summer Daytona race.

The big difference is in top 20 finishes. Haley has 11, while the No. 15 Ford has just five.

As for LaJoie, he sits one point ahead of Haley in 31st place in the standings. His top finish of the season is fourth in the season-opening Daytona 500, and he has since added finishes of ninth at Darlington and eighth at Watkins Glen International. He has eight other top 20 finishes.

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