6Â Days to Daytona left until qualifying for the Great American Race is held. Two more days left of the last work week without NASCAR Cup Series action. As the teams are putting the final touches on their cars, the road to the 2024 playoffs start soon. One team who will likely be sparse from playoff talk is the #51 Rick Ware Racing entry. However, the acquisition of Justin Haley might help changes thing for the 51 team.
#51 Rick Ware Racing
Driver: Justin Haley
Crew Chief: Chris Lawson
Sponsors: Walmart, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Jacob Construction
2024 Season Preview
A Big Acquisition
While Justin Haley is not a superstar in the NASCAR world, his departure from Kaulig Racing to Rick Ware Racing is notable. Before the surprising news, many assumed Haley would be a Kaulig driver for years to come. However, financial reasons saw the two split. At only 24 years old (entering the season), Haley is an intriguing young driver. He is talented, evident by his Truck and Xfinity Series days. While with Kaulig, Haley kept his car clean with flashes of greatness. His second place run at Chicago definitely turned heads. Now with Rick Ware, it will be interesting to see if he can elevate the team. Already, Haley got Rick Ware into their first main event for The Clash.
Long Term Play
Even with Kaulig Racing’s struggle, many were confused as to why Justin Haley picked Rick Ware Racing. At the time of the announcement, there were other Cup Series options seemingly available. However, Haley picked to go Rick Ware. In interviews discussing the move, Haley stated that he believed RWR is on the right track to building something great. The alliance with RFK Racing was mentioned as well. More than the technical alliance, the RFK connection might be the key piece. Brad Keselowski has expressed interest in expanding (when the time is right). Could RFK expand to three or four teams via Rick Ware Racing? If not that, perhaps Keselowski sees Justin Haley as a potential successor for when he retires.
Daytona 500 Chances
Justin Haley is a former winner at Daytona. His lone Cup Series win came during the summer race in 2019 when rain ended the event prematurely. However, Haley has demonstrated great superspeedway skill, especially in the Xfinity Series. All of his 4 Xfinity wins came on superspeedways. Simply, Haley seems to know the draft well. However, he has not finished in the Top-10 at Daytona since 2021.
Speedweeks Outlook
Similar to Riley Herbst, do not expect a good qualifying lap from Justin Haley. The speed will likely not be there for that. Surprisingly, Haley has not done well in his three duel starts at Daytona. Now that Haley is with Ford, maybe that changes. In theory, Haley has four potential teammates out there (plus Kaz Grala with Front Row). When it comes to the Daytona 500, Justin Haley usually is a name that is thrown out as a underdog pick. Although his track record does little to support this, it does make sense. Haley’s best shot a win this year will be on a superspeedway, might as well win the Great American Race to do it.
Previous Days
40-36 Days: 40 – #12, 39 – #5, 38 – #24, 37 – #20, & 36 – #11
35-31 Days: 35 – #45, 34 – #17, 33 – #6, 32 – #1, & #31 – #9
30-26 Days:Â 30 – #19, 29 – #22, 28 – #4, 27 – #8, & 26 – #34
25-21 Days: 25 – #34, 24 – #23, 23 – #54, 22 – #99, & 21 – #48
20-16 Days: 20 – #16, 19 – #10, 18 – #41, 17 – #2, & 16 – #31
15-11 Days: 15 – #7, 14 – #43, 13 – #38, 12 – #3, & 11 – #14
