Since RAM rejoined the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with a fleet of five Kaulig Racing entries, it’s been a brutal uphill battle. With no sim and zero notes, they entered the year blind against a stacked field of competitors.
Despite the struggles, they’ve also managed to score a total of 15 top tens, but Bristol was a new milestone for the Kaulig RAM group. Justin Haley drove his No. 16 to a fourth-place finish in the first top five for the entire organization.
The last time a RAM truck earned a top five finish in the Truck Series was when Ryan Blaney placed fifth at Phoenix in November, 2012.
“Obviously, a great night for everyone at Kaulig Racing and RAM and Stellantis,” Haley told Motorsport.com’s Matt Weaver after Bristol. “We finished ninth at New Hampshire almost a month ago, but that was our last race. So yeah, just super proud of everyone at Kaulig.
It’s obviously been a tough year and it’s been a grind. Starting a truck team with five trucks is just insane, right? No sim still.
“It’s been tough and honestly, this is one of our oldest trucks that we have. It’s not even one of our new trucks that we’ve been trying to run and develop a notebook on, so just super cool. I feel like this is one of my better tracks. I kind of had a feel that I wanted and we ran good here in the spring. It’s obviously huge to get the first top five for Ram and everyone. That’s what we’ve been striving for, but we just need all five trucks to close that gap and just keep building for next year.”
Haley was the only Kaulig truck to place inside the top 15 with his next-best teammate being Corey LaJoie in 18th, then Brenden Queen 21st, Regan Smith 23rd, and Mini Tyrrell 26th.
Ty Dillon, driver of the #25 Kaulig RAM, Justin Haley, driver of the #16 Kaulig RAM, and Brenden Queen, driver of the #12 Kaulig RAM
Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images
But Haley’s result gives the entire team a glimpse into what is possible for them, and he spent some time praising the effort by those working behind the scenes as well.
“Super proud of all these guys,” continued Haley. “They’re really happy, which is cool to see. A lot of them, I’m telling you, have worked really hard. And just proud of everyone at the shop too. It’s a cool result, finishing fourth in a truck race. It’s just crazy where life takes you sometimes. But couldn’t be more happy to do it with this group and Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice and everyone at Stellantis. It’s been huge and we’re trying our best each and every week.”
It’s also a strange place for Haley to be in, celebrating his first top five of the year — in September. He’s a driver who has won at all three national levels of NASCAR, including a three-win Truck season in 2018 where he had a shot at the title in the season finale.
Justin Haley, No. 16 Kaulig Racing RAM
Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Does the fact that he has had to lower his standards quite a bit give Haley mixed emotions on a night like this?
“A little bit,” confessed Haley, who also takes pride in how far they’ve come this year. “Obviously, I love driving for Kaulig Racing and Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice. It’s the best race team that I could ever drive for. I’m going to drive here till my career’s over anyway. But it’s just special to me because, like, it’s one top five, but it’s been a grind this year. We’ve gone a lap down on the first stage, you know, multiple weeks in a row.
“And just kind of to pull yourself back into the race car each week, it’s tough. But yeah, just couldn’t be more proud of these guys. Like I said, this is one of our oldest trucks.
It’s just one of the ones we kind of had sitting there. So yeah, just proud of everyone. It’s been a grind.
“I like that we’ve kind of built it right. And I’m part of that process and I enjoy that. I enjoy that we’ve all been in this together and we’ve taken it from being lapped in the first stage to finishing fourth and running in the top 10 all night.
“Not saying that’s going to happen every week, but this is at least something in the notebook. We can take this truck back and put it on scales and post it and see why it worked. And yeah, just go from there.”
Watch: Garcia celebrates first Truck Series win at Bristol
