Haley’s Out: Who Should be in the No. 7 for 2026?
Haley is officially out of Spire! It was no secret that Spire was unhappy with him, and he was likely to leave. But now that it’s official, we can talk about who’s best to replace Haley in the 7! Given Spire’s chaotic state, this choice will be crucial for their future!
The Obvious Choice to Replace Haley: Daniel Suarez
One of the few other confirmed FAs so far this year, but that’s not the only reason Suarez is the obvious choice to replace Haley. The Mexican has made the playoffs before and has 2 Cup Series wins, both in the Next Gen era as well. Not to mention he’s won in most, if not every, NASCAR series at this point.
So, he’s a proven Cup Series driver who won’t win you a title but will outdrive his equipment when everything’s right. Not to mention, he helped build up Trackhouse into the powerhouse they are today. With Spire going into rebuilding mode, it makes Suarez that much more of a tantalizing pick for Spire to replace Haley.
As he could do what Lajoie did at the start of Spire’s life, becoming the driver, they could rebuild around refocusing the team and giving it a direction once again. This season, they attempted to scale up to a race-winning team but fell short. Starting over and rebuilding to regain their 2024 level would be a smart move. It is better to do it sooner rather than later.
The Next Potential Driver to Replace Haley: Chandler Smith!
It’s currently unknown what Chandler Smith’s contract status is; really, the status of FRM as a whole is unknown as of right now. As we still don’t know what the settlement reached with NASCAR means for FRM and 23XI. This leaves Spire with a chance to grab a rookie who’s been Cup-ready for a while now. Someone’s been stuck in the development series since 2019, despite having 10 total truck/Xfinity wins, and has finished 3rd in the truck series points before and 5th in the Xfinity series standings as well.
Most young drivers with a resume this strong would’ve been promoted to a full-time cup ride by now. But for over half a decade, he’s been on the outside looking in, forced to take part-time stints only. But that also makes him a great candidate to replace Haley in the 7! Not to mention, Spire has been very good at developing young drivers in the Cup Series.
Lajoie has done an excellent job in the 7, despite having fewer than a handful of starts in trucks and nationwide before coming up to Cup. Hocevar came close to his first win multiple times this year and has shown improvement over last year. Which means Chandler Smith isn’t only a great candidate to replace Haley, but it’d be an ideal spot to land for Chandler Smith!
Another Driver Considered Perfect to Replace Haley: Christian Eckes
Eckes has become a victim of Kaulig’s transitional period. He’s still having a good year in Xfinity, all things considered. He’s Kaulig’s best driver in points right now, and his average finish reflects that, comparing him to Kaulig’s other FT drivers, with Eckes earning a 16.3 so far this year compared to Dye’s 19.0 and Williams’ 20.0.
But what really proves he’s cup-ready is his incredible 2024 truck series season. Eckes’ 2024 truck season has been overshadowed by Heim’s dominance this year, particularly since he didn’t win the championship due to the playoffs. But in 2024, he won 4 races in trucks, which is impressive, obviously, but what makes this the 2nd best truck season ever?
Aside from 1 race, he finished top 10 in every single season, 22 out of the 23 races, for a ridiculous average finish of 5.4 across a whole season! For the record, that’s the same average finish that Heim has as of right now. And with all the fans begging for Heim to get a cup seat, fans should be doing the same for Eckes. Thanks a bunch for reading!
