Kaulig Racing, a full-time team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series that competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, plans to go full-time Cup Series racing in 2022 with Justin Haley, one of its Xfinity drivers, as its full-time Cup driver next season.
Kaulig will purchase two of the three charters currently owned by Spire Motorsports. Spire will keep the charter under which it fields the #7 for driver Corey LaJoie.
“Spire Motorsports will sell two of its three charters to Kaulig Racing,” a statement from Spire Motorsports co-owners Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr earlier this month read. “We will continue to field the No. 7 with Corey LaJoie as a chartered entry in 2022. We remain committed to NASCAR and the Cup Series and we will continue to look for opportunities to grow and compete in the future.”
Haley has raced part-time in the Cup Series since 2019, contesting 19 races [18 for Spire and one for Kaulig]. He notched Spire Motorsports’ only Cup Series race win, to date, at Daytona International Speedway in 2019. He already has contested 14 Cup races for Spire in 2021.
“Earlier today, Kaulig Racing announced that it would field a full-time NASCAR Cup Series entry for Justin Haley in 2022,” the Spire Motorsports statement read. “Above all, we’d like to congratulate Justin and Matt Kaulig for their exciting news. Justin is one of the most talented young drivers in the sport. We’re thrilled that he has an opportunity to compete full time for a playoff-caliber team. Matt Kaulig will bring new ownership and new enthusiasm to the NASCAR Cup Series garage.”
A.J. Allmendinger, one of Haley’s teammates at Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series, is expected to drive a second Cup Series entry for Kaulig part-time next season, in addition to continuing with the team full-time in the Xfinity Series.
Kaulig had five Cup Series starts under its belt, four of those this season with Allmendinger and Kaz Grala each as driver for two races. Three of the four races, so far, in 2021 have resulted in top-10 finishes, including a best finish of fifth at the Daytona road course with Allmendinger behind the wheel.
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