With his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, Justin Haley has solidified his placement into Playoffs. 

It was a big afternoon for Kaulig Racing.

“First of all, I want to dedicate this win to Nick Harrison (his former crew chief) and the Harrison family. He started this journey with me last year, my rookie year and losing him was pretty big,” Haley said. “It’s just an incredible day, emotionally. I’m fighting for a ride, fighting for the next time I get in a race car next year so any time you can win, it definitely helps.

“Hats off to the No. 11 crew, everyone at Kaulig Racing. Matt Kaulig we love you. I have to thank my family.”

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Asked about why he climbed out of the right-side of his car, Haley said, “I’ve been thinking about. Everyone has their own deal. That’s mine, that’s going to be my signature mark, only because I’m the littlest guy. I think I’m the only one who can do it and I still struggled.”

Not only did they win the race, but second-place runner Ross Chastain won the Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus by finishing second.

Additionally, Kaulig Racing has two opportunities to win the final round of the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus next weekend at Pocono Raceway with Haley and Chastain.

Jeb Burton finished third and is eligible, but he is running just a part-time schedule with JR Motorsports this season and his status for Pocono is unknown. Austin Cindric who finished fourth also qualified for the Dash 4 Cash. 

Should Jeb Burton not compete in next weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Pocono, the spot would be open to the next highest Xfinity Series competitor who meets the requirements.

On the restart with three laps to go, Haley received a push on the outside lane coming to the white flag from Ross Chastain shoving his No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro past Jeb Burton to seal the victory.

Haley finished ahead of Chastain by 0.299 seconds followed by Burton, Austin Cindric and Brett Moffitt to complete the top-five. 

Anthony Alfredo, AJ Allmendinger, Gray Gaulding, Alex Labbe and Noah Gragson comprised the top-10.

With his victory, Haley has now won in all three of NASCAR’s top three national series. He won in the NASCAR Cup Series last summer at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and is a three-time winner in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

Haley dedicated the win to his late crew chief Nick Harrison who died unexpectedly in July 2019 – the morning after the Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.