Justin Haley battled a repaired race car, mental demons and a three-time Supercars champion on the way to an impressive and improbable runner-up effort in Chicago.
Haley put his Kaulig Racing team behind Saturday when he hit the wall in practice for the Chicago street course race. It was the unfortunate result of the No. 31 team choosing the wrong shock package and struggling in braking zones.
The damage kept Haley from qualifying, and he started in the rear of the field. It also led to plenty of repair work for the team, which included Haley, who wrapped half of his Chevrolet himself.
“I thought that was pretty cool,” Haley said.
Once Sunday’s race started, Haley felt he had a good pace. Haley averaged a 17th-place running position and largely stayed out of trouble.
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Haley’s race changed when the decision was made to shorten the race distance. NASCAR officials made the call at the end of the second stage, and Haley, who had previously made a pit stop, stayed out and inherited the race lead.
Multiple cautions in the final stage allowed Haley to make it on fuel. but having the fuel and track position weren’t going to be enough to send Haley to victory lane.
“Shane [van Gisbergen] was just better,” Haley said. “He had 16 or something laps better tires. Just a world-class racer. He was very precise and very smooth. He wasn’t overdriving it. He was very calculated. For someone to come in and race like that was just incredible. Very clean, as well.
“Our race for the lead was clean and he gave a lot of room and very respectful. Great day for our finish, Chevrolet, and everyone at Kaulig Racing, the 31 team. I felt like where we’re at right now as an organization, we’re just trying to get better.
“This is my and the team’s second full-time season and unfortunately, I haven’t been in a position like that legitimately to try to hold off championship-caliber drivers. I’ve just never found myself in that position early in my career. I was definitely battling some demons in my head there, just trying to stay focused and trying to get to the finish. But I felt like my lack of experience and his better tires were just how he won today.
A thrilling battle for the top spot! @shanevg97 gets past @Justin_Haley_! #NASCARChicago pic.twitter.com/sTj3iBoIBt
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 3, 2023
“I don’t feel like it was a complete loss. We still finished second. Definitely wish I would have been better but that just comes down to being in that position more often.”
If the tough weekend wasn’t bad enough, Haley didn’t have the best prep coming into it. Not that it was by choice.
Kaulig Racing, according to Haley, is not a manufacturer-supported team “to an extent.” Haley only got 20 minutes of time on the simulator ahead of his first street race, which was Thursday night at 9pm.
“That’s all I had,” he said. “Just what we’ve built at Kaulig Racing, Matt Kaulig, Chris Rice, everyone has just done an amazing job, and it shows that this car has leveled the playing field. I can’t imagine how much sim time Shane had, but I had 20 minutes. I don’t know if it would have helped or not.
“When you sit back at the end of the night and think about what we don’t have compared to the other teams and that we’re just starting to blossom as a race team, it’s just incredible. I feel like we’re realistic of where we need to be. AJ [Allmendinger] has put together some great runs. But it’s a fight.
“This is a tough race series and every week it’s tough. Definitely enjoy it when we do run up front. That doesn’t mean that we can take tomorrow off, though.”