Justin Haley No. 24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet Michigan Recap

Justin Haley, driver of the No. 24 Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet for GMS Racing, qualified seventh for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Michigan International Speedway. Haley dropped back to ninth as the green flag waved but maintained his position in the top-10 past halfway in the first stage. With 10 laps remaining until the break at lap 30, he reported to crew chief Kevin Bellicourt that the No. 24 was tight as he fell back to the 12th position.

 

Under the stage one caution, Haley visited pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, restarting from 15th as several teams took two tires. As the field returned to green, the 18-year-old gained two positions and continued to work his way back in the top 10. He relayed to the team that his truck was handling well when he was on his own, but it was tight in traffic. When the caution was shown on lap 53, he pitted for right side tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment. He restarted in the top 10 with just five laps left in the second stage, running seventh as the caution came out on lap 62 for the break.

 

Confident with the adjustments made during the last stop, Bellicourt elected to leave his driver on track during the break, taking over the lead for the start of the final 35-lap stage. Haley led the field back to green on lap 66 but lost the lead the same lap just as the fifth caution of the day occurred. Scored in the second position, Haley restarted in the second position on lap 72 but began to fall back as the top line had momentum on the restart. Haley briefly fell outside of the top-10 with 20 laps to go but fought to regain position within the top 10. He crossed the line in the tenth position for his ninth top-10 finish in 11 starts this season.

QUOTE
“I’m really happy for our Fraternal Order of Eagles team. We got another solid top-10 finish and were able to stay out of trouble, but I think we could have ultimately had a top-three finish had things fallen the right way earlier in the last stage. Regardless, we’ve been really consistent these last eight race and I feel like we’re close to a win. We’ve proven we can run up front, we just need to put it all together to be there at the finish.”

 

GMS Racing PR