While Haley has been the largest part of Kaulig Racing’s rise from underdog to contender in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he was quick to deflect much of the praise off of himself and back to the team members behind him — both in the shop and at the race track.
“I can’t take all the credit,” a humble Haley noted. “There are a bunch of great people that have put forth a lot of great effort. A lot of our drivers, a lot of crew chiefs, a lot of engineers … so many people have been a part of this, along with a lot of money spent from all our great sponsors. It’s a lot of puzzle pieces that come together to make incredible things happen. I don’t just say this — I really mean it — but I feel like we have best (team) owner and president in the sport, who really care. It’s just not a team; it’s a family at Kaulig Racing and that’s one of the things I love so much about being there.
“They call and check up on me; Chris (Rice) calls and checks up on me almost every day and we’re just super tight-knit and super close,” Haley added. “I think that’s what makes it work for us.”
Haley’s rise from small-town, short track racer to Xfinity Series title contender looked like it might fizzle out more than once along the way.
Each time, however, he rose to the occasion.
He won the ARCA Menards Series East title (then the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) in 2016 after a year in which he was overlooked from the NASCAR Next program. That led to a move into the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2017, where Haley built his résumé further with GMS Racing for two years, making the Championship 4 in 2018 prior to joining the Kaulig squad.
It’s a journey Haley appreciates, adding that Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice have helped him develop further as both a racer and a person in the time that he’s driven for them.
“I think, more than anything, that everyone here at Kaulig just gave me the resources to show what kind of person I could be and to improve on that,” Haley reflected. “Being in the Xfinity Series and having a little more exposure to get my name out there has helped my career a lot, I think. … The opportunities are just so slim and so few and far between, where if you’re not a big name with a (famous) last name or with a top-rated Cup team or top Xfinity program, it’s hard. So for me, it’s been about figuring out how to go about doing things and Kaulig has done a great job at pushing my name out there. It’s been great.
“I really haven’t done anything different. I’m still doing the same thing I’ve done,” he added. “But people do start looking at you a little differently over time and I think that’s something that’s helped me also.”
As Haley looks toward his future in 2021, he’s also keeping his focus on the present, where he’s two points below the current playoff cut line and well within range of making the Championship 4 to race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
That kind of pedigree is something Haley wants — and expects — to continue next year. He believes that Kaulig Racing “should be a championship-contending team year after year,” and he aims to help prove it.
“A hundred percent, I think the Championship 4 is our goal next year,” Haley stressed. “It’s still our goal this year. We have the cars; we’re building new cars and we’re finding speed. Our mile-and-a-half program may need a little bit of work but there are plenty of great drivers who have come in and helped us in trying to figure that out. When you look at our alliance with RCR (Richard Childress Racing), the (No.) 21 car was extremely fast this weekend. So whatever they did, we’re going to learn from … and it will ultimately make us stronger along the way. There’s still a lot of work to be done.
“For a Xfinity organization without a big Cup team name, I think we’re doing better than anyone else has, for the most part,” he said, a hint of a smile in his voice. “I like where we’re at. I love Kaulig and Matt and everyone here and I truly do feel like this was the best opportunity I could have asked for.”