Justin Haley speaks his mind on crew chief Rodney Childers after their first showdown at the Bowman Gray

NASCAR driver Justin Haley recently shared his thoughts on teaming up with veteran crew chief Rodney Childers for the first time, following the silly season. Childers made a move to Spire Motorsports ahead of this year's campaign after his former team Stewart Haas Racing closed operations in NASCAR.

Last season, Justin Haley drove the #51 Ford for Rick Ware Racing. However, with seven races remaining in 2024, RWR and Spire Motorsports executed a driver swap, sending Corey LaJoie to Haley’s former team while Haley took over the #7 car for Spire.

This is where the former RWR driver paired up with legendary crew chief Rodney Childers. The duo had their first experience together at the pre-season Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium last Sunday.

In a recent interview with FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass, Haley expressed his views on working with the championship-winning crew chief.

"I think I've just tried to be a sponge really. Based off of our conversations, I feel like he was kind of racing on a different planet than what I've been racing on. A lot of the things him and Cheddar talk about, the car chief, are things I really didn't even know existed in the cup garage. They were just so far out of reach for me, the resources and tools that they use," Haley said.

He added:

"Rodney's obviously very smart. It's been super impressive with how analytical and in depth they've been throughout every step of this off season. So just trying to gather it all up and transition as quickly as possible to first your races."

Justin Haley competed in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) race at Bowman Gray Stadium to qualify for the 200-lap event. Haley started the LCQ race in P9 and despite the controversy involving him and Ty Gibbs, the Spire driver finished the race in the same position he started in.

Meanwhile, the Cup Series will return with the Daytona 500 on February 16 at 2:30 pm. Catch the action live on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM.

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Ryan Blaney speculates on Ty Gibbs’ state in the aftermath following incident with Justin Haley at Bowman Gray

JGR driver Ty Gibbs and Justin Haley were involved in an on-tack skirmish in the 75-lap LCQ race, which Gibbs started in P3. However, on lap 65, Justin Haley made contact with Gibbs' #54 Toyota, causing him to spin off track. Under caution, Gibbs retaliated by tapping the right rear of Haley’s #7 Chevrolet, briefly lifting it off the ground before heading to the pits for repairs.

Following the end of the race, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney reflected on this incident and expressed his thoughts on Gibbs going airborne before making a rough landing.

"I wonder how his (Gibbs) back is today. Ty Gibbs launching over the second. Obviously he didn't mean to jump wheels. I think he meant to just door him (Justin Haley) and pull off. I know what it feels like to just bottom out one of these cars. There's these blocks under the frame that are just solid. I know I would be bedridden. I wouldn't be here today, I would be in the hospital," Blaney said on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.

Neither Gibbs nor Haley made it to the 200-lap feature race at the historic short oval. Meanwhile, HMS driver Kyle Larson secured the top spot in the LCQ. However, after advancing to the Cook Out Clash, he finished the exhibition race in P17.