NASCAR CUP SERIES
PHOENIX RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
MARCH 8, 2025
Justin Haley, driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session at Phoenix Raceway.
Media Availability Quotes:
With the No. 5 team losing a couple of crew guys, they get a couple of your crew guys and you get a couple of guys who I think pitted Justin Allgaier’s car in the DAYTONA 500. Is there anything you can do to help new guys who come in on the team who are only going to be there for two weeks?
“Yeah, I mean obviously that’s a really in-depth question. Bob, you really do your research, huh (laughs)? I mean, I just hate that with how the system of NASCAR works, like it hurts us. I don’t know if the No. 5 is going to get really hurt that much losing two guys because they got two really good guys that were on the No. 7 car, right? So, I mean I have full confidence in the Hendrick Motorsports pit crew team, right? But they are newer guys that got put on my car and this is their opportunity to show what they’re capable of. So, yeah, I mean I don’t really think that we’re losing much either but it’s just a weird system, right? How it all kind of pans out. So, yeah – Coach says they’re ready. Obviously, they were good on (Justin) Allgaier’s car at the DAYTONA 500. But definitely a weird situation because, right, we didn’t really do anything wrong. Our car wasn’t the issue. But just kind of how things work in the world. But, yeah, I mean it’s going to be interesting, right? Because it’s two weeks for us that we have new guys on our car. So, a little bump in the road but I don’t think it’s going to take away from much.”
How do you think your communication with your crew chief has improved as the race schedule continues?
“Yeah, I mean obviously starting off the season with a new crew chief is always difficult. I mean it’s never going to be easy, especially because you’re racing against teams and drivers and crew chief pairings that have been doing it for decades. So, I really do think it’s underestimated how quickly you have to get up to speed with your new crew chief. So, obviously I have Rodney Childers who, you know, was with the same guy forever with (Kevin) Harvick. You know, throughout what I hear with Kevin, their communication was a little bit different than what me and Rodney’s communication is going to be and that’s okay. It’s just, you know, different people with different views and how they want to attack the race weekend. So, I feel like the first two weeks, we really didn’t know. Rodney and I sat down this week actually on Wednesday and just kind of talked about what we want out of each other. I thought COTA was a really good race for us. We executed well – had the fifth fastest lap and we were in the top-ten before the caution. So, yeah, I think honestly the speed at Spire Motorsports is there and just getting that communication down as early as possible and having those meetings during the week to improve is key.”
Justin, when you look at this weekend and the fact that we’re introducing the option tire for the first time at Phoenix – how do you approach this practice session being an all skate for 45 minutes but having, you know, to work both the primary and the option tire? What is the game plan that you guys are going to look forward to in this 45-minute session?
“Yeah, I mean, that’s not really my decision, right? It’s left up to Rodney and the crew for what they want to do and how they want to attack the weekend; when they want to use them and when they don’t want to use them. You know, I’m just going to try to give the best balance read I can on both; see if there is a shift of balance between the two tires. And then just try to run the two tires out as long as possible, right? I think our game plan like this week was when do you want to use them in practice because you want to wait for the track to rubber in as much as possible with the cup rubber. You know, there’s so many different ways to look at it, but I think for us, we’re going to start on the yellows and run those out for as many laps as we can, probably a whole green flag run, and then come in and put the reds on. But, you know, I heard from other teams that wanted to put the reds on when the track was green and let it rubber up and then put their primary tire on with, you know, a rubbered up track. So there’s different ways to view it. I’m just kind of whatever Rodney tells me I’m going to do, and we’ll be okay.”
Kind of sticking with the option tire. Do you like the fact that they’re doing the option tire this weekend and, you know, what have you heard from other drivers about their opinion on what’s going on this weekend?
“I haven’t talked to anyone about it, and I really haven’t done much research into it. So, yeah, I think it was okay at Richmond. Is that the only time we’ve used it once? So, yeah, it’s fine. We’re all in it together, right? It’s another variable for us to either get right or mess up. So, yeah, it just comes down to strategy, but I certainly don’t hate the idea.”
Looking ahead to Las Vegas next week, wind traditionally sometimes a problem there. How do you deal with high winds at a place like that?
“I mean, you just drive. I don’t really know what I can do about the wind. But, yeah, it’s definitely different. You know, even last week at Circuit of the Americas, we were dealing with some wind in different areas, and when you get to, like, Pocono or Indianapolis, you deal with it. So Vegas usually isn’t too big of an issue. I know they always make a big deal about it. But kind of with how the track is, the wind usually faces into Turn One and then there’s kind of big billboards there. So I don’t really feel like it affects us much at Vegas as much as some of the other tracks. But, yeah, you just try to balance your car as well as possible and deal with it.”
Justin, historically they’ve called Phoenix a driver’s track, and I’ve always assumed that that implies that the driver is a bigger part of the equation here. To your mind, what can a driver do here that perhaps he can’t do at Las Vegas, Kansas or even Dover? Are you a bigger part of the equation as a driver here at Phoenix?
“I mean, I would like to think so, but probably not. It still probably comes down to aero, just like every week. So, no, to be honest with you, it comes down to a great setup, a great prepared team and good pit stops to get you in front of the aero equations. So, yeah, like I said, I feel like we’ve been really fast, and I had a lot of meetings with Rodney this week. Obviously, Rodney had a lot of success here with Harvick. So, yeah, I think we had a good sim session and feel confident about it. So we’ll see here in a little bit if Rodney still knows how to get around Phoenix, and I still know how to get around Phoenix. But, no, it’s exciting as a younger driver to be paired with someone who has had so much success here and to kind of get his feel throughout the week of it.”
A lot of the drivers have talked about how there’s an art to running the dog leg here. Can you elaborate, especially from a driver’s perspective, because of how rough it is? Is there a way that you need to get off the dog leg without causing too much of a pain or too much damage underneath your car as a result of it?
“Yeah, I don’t know. I try to go down there as little as possible. But it is a big time advantage, and I think we’re probably going to do it in qualifying. So, yeah, it’s just kind of one of those things where you have to grit your teeth and deal with it. I don’t think it’s fun for any of us. I think you could ask every driver in the field, and they would say it’s not fun.
But, yeah, with this car and how low we are to the track, it’s definitely a necessity.”
Justin, can you give me a sense of going into this session with this tire, what you’re going to be looking for? And can you also give me a sense, maybe based off of Richmond? I know it’s different, but how different is it for the driver when you switch from a primary to an option tire? What more do you guys have to do? Or, I mean, is it just the same thing?
“Yeah, it just depends on the balance shift. Like I said, obviously the option tire is going to be faster, so you’ll have more grip and you’ll feel better about your car. And, yeah, just like I said, the balance shift. I feel like at Richmond, my car was similar on both tires, and I think that’s kind of what you want.
So, yeah, I don’t really have a good answer for you. You just hope and feel that both the tires have the same balance of your race car, right? Because if you’re going to be good on the primaries and then put the option tire on and the option tire you’re way tighter on, then that’s going to slow down your pit stop during the race. And then that’s just going to compound the issue because you’re going to want to get around adjustments for it. So, yeah, just trying to think about that.
But, I mean, to be honest with you, you’re still spending 90% of your race on the primary tire, so does it matter? Probably not. You just need to know when to put them on, right? If we knew Monday when the cautions were going to fall, we’d all be a lot smarter. So, yeah, just how lucky can you get?”
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