NASCAR Cup seat opens up after and fans have | Sports News

Spire Motorsports has introduced that it’s parting methods with NASCAR Cup Series driver Justin Haley after the conclusion of the 2025 season. The 26-year-old is set to go away the No. 7 Chevrolet workforce after his sole full 12 months behind the wheel, having swapped seats with Corey LaJoie late within the 2024 season, sending the latter to Rick Ware Racing.

This will mark the top of Haley’s third stint with Spire within the Cup, having first pushed the No. 77 for the then-new workforce back in 2019. In simply his third race of the season at Daytona, Haley wound up sealing Spire’s solely Cup victory on the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

In a assertion launched by workforce co-owner Jeff Dickerson, he wrote that this was “a decision that was not taken lightly,” occurring so as to add, “Justin has been a member of the Spire family since he was a teenager. We’ve watched Justin grow from a young driver trying to make his mark in the sport to a proven winner.

“He helped strengthen our organization into what it is today. He made us winners and returned home after forging his own path in the Cup Series. Justin is the embodiment of a true racer who has quietly become a respected competitor within the NASCAR garage and will be an incredible asset to his next team.”

Spire added within the release that its plans for Haley’s alternative in 2026 might be made public at a later date, though this hasn’t stopped fans from rapidly speculating who might substitute him.

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One identify that has frequently popped up is Daniel Suarez, who’s set to go away Trackhouse Racing after the top of the present season, with Xfinity Series starlet Connor Zilisch in line to take his seat. Suarez has remained coy about his future plans, though he teased in August that he was “getting closer” to asserting his subsequent transfer.

Another driver who’s as soon as again being linked with Spire is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Currently the driving force of the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet, he was beforehand touted as a potential alternative for Haley by The Athletic. Responding to such claims, Stenhouse mentioned after the Cook Out Southern 500 that, having solely re-signed with Hyak a 12 months in the past, “I’m here through 2026 unless they tell me otherwise or unless we redo another one and stay there for longer.”

“For me, (crew chief) Mike [Kelley] and the boys, we’re working hard trying to figure out how we can get some consistency and a little bit more speed heading into the offseason so we can hit the ground running for next year. I’ve got a great group of guys that work hard and we all want the same thing. So, I’ll be at the 47 the rest of this year, the offseason, and going into 2026.”

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An various option Spire could also be contemplating might be Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, as steered by some fans. This isn’t the primary time the two-time Cup Series champion has been touted with a transfer to Spire during what’s proving to be one other underwhelming season with RCR, after Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass lately advised Kevin Harvick, “I think Spire would like to have him and see what they could do with him.

“Sounds like he’s, as they’ve all said, staying for next year, but I mean, you know, he can’t be happy. And if they continue to run the way they’ve been running, he’ll want to leave.”

In the meantime, Haley will have the subsequent three races to showcase his expertise forward of his own seek for a new seat, beginning with a journey to Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. This follows a blended season with Spire, during which he managed an spectacular third-place end at Daytona and tenth at Homestead-Miami Speedway, together with a additional 11 high 20 finishes.