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NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 15, 2018

Justin Haley

Q. Okay, underdog. Is that still the label until you win that trophy Friday night?
JUSTIN HALEY: Yeah, it's going to be the label even when I win it. And it's not underdog, it's dark horse. Yeah, it's dark horse, and we were the seventh seed going into the playoffs. No one even really had us going into the round of six. A lot of people didn't even have us going to the playoffs, and we made it to the round of four to prove all the haters wrong. It's been really fun.

Q. What's got you so relaxed about this week? Is it because nobody gave you a chance?
JUSTIN HALEY: No, I think obviously GMS Racing gave me the chance, and they knew I could do it. I don't know, it's just been fun. I've got no pressure. I wouldn't say I don't care how this weekend goes, but however the weekend goes, I'm going to be pretty okay with it because I know we've put ourselves in the opportunity to win a championship, and I think that's‑‑ when I told my team at the beginning of the year, I said, if we work together and get the 24 truck into the Final Four, that's really all we can ask for, the opportunity to go and compete for a championship.
I'm just looking at it as a normal race, and I'm not even lying to you. I'm going to strap in tomorrow night, and whatever happens happens.

Q. Johnny said he doesn't see himself as a favorite. Do you agree? Do you think there is a favorite, or do you think he might be the favorite?
JUSTIN HALEY: Well, Johnny never sees himself as the top dog, and I think that's just Johnny. He doesn't give a lot of credit to himself. He's obviously very fast. I would say he's the favorite. He's had the best season. He has the most wins, and he's the only past champion going into the Final Four. I definitely think he's the favorite, but that's just Johnny Sauter for you.

Q. How do you look at racing as a teammate, as a competitor? Do you kind of look at that as an advantage or a disadvantage?
JUSTIN HALEY: I don't know, me and Johnny have always raced each other pretty clean, so I know when I get to him, he's not going to move me like some of the other competitors would. I feel like everyone in their own head knows how someone is going to race them. Obviously being teammates with Johnny, that helps a little bit, and I don't know, me and Johnny have just created a relationship outside of the truck and a friendship and a bond that's been pretty close, and I can go and lean on him for anything I need, and vice versa.
Me and Johnny have always been pretty cool with each other. We've had our differences at times, but it's nothing we haven't made up. So I've been very fortunate to learn off of Johnny for the past few years.

Q. When I talked to you in Vegas, we talked about the Xfinity race and what happened at Daytona. Do you see that race as a turning point for you this season, and if not, or maybe if you do, what was the turning point?
JUSTIN HALEY: Well, yeah. I think just the Xfinity races in general were my turning point. Obviously I got the opportunity from GMS Racing to go to Iowa for my series debut, and we ran okay there. I think we finished 12th. It was an okay day. I was disappointed in it. I would have liked to have been in the top 10. That's just the race car driver coming out in me. And then going to Daytona, I actually‑‑ so I made my Iowa Xfinity start, and then the next week I won Gateway, and then like two weeks later was Daytona, so there was a lot happening in a short amount of time.
But if I look back at it, I didn't even have any Xfinity races planned for the beginning of this year. Going to Daytona, I was just going to run for the truck championship and I was going to be content with that. After Daytona and kind of proving to myself, my sponsors, my family and my team that I could go out there and win an Xfinity race, not only a truck race, meant a lot to us. I would probably say it's a turning point, and we've been pretty fast ever since.

Q. In terms of prep, has this week been any different for you?
JUSTIN HALEY: No. I told everyone around me to keep it as regular as possible, no changes. I told my girlfriend just be normal. We're going to eat the same thing and do what we do. No, no, there's nothing different about this week. I've done the same prep. Obviously a little more media. I've been at the Chevy sim a little more than usual obviously just because of the week. But in terms of how often I've been to the shop, I've been there every day and working and team spirits have all been the same. Like I said, this is just a normal race for me, and that's the only way we can look at it.

Q. Will you practice up top? Is there a risk‑reward to practicing, potentially ruining the truck or damaging it? Will you practice up there?
JUSTIN HALEY: Well, I was at the Chevy simulator for hours the past two weeks, and they said, man, Justin, you're really good at running the top on the Chevy simulator, but why can't you do it in real life, and I said, well, it's the difference between a virtual right side and a real right side.
We're going to practice up there. Obviously that's going to be where the speed is. In a truck there's no reason to be up against the fence like the Xfinity car, the Cup car. We have a lot more side force than them, and our tails kick out. As long as you're straddling the top seam, you look at C‑Bell and Johnny that was fast last year and the past years, that's where they run. It's not like we're going to be banging the boards or pushing the cushion or anything.

Q. How have you matured as a driver from 2017 to 2018 that could allow you to win this championship?
JUSTIN HALEY: I don't know, that's a hard question. Just probably because I really don't look at myself too often. Maturity wise I think obviously not only me but the team have grown. I've got a really good group of guys with me and Kevin Bellicourt has really set a high standard for us all, and I think he's really pushed us to be better than what we need to be.
I probably blame a lot of it on GMS Racing as an organization, building us up and whatnot. But maturity wise, obviously I can put a race together now, and I couldn't last season because I didn't have any race wins, and I've been in a few Xfinity races and learning the endurance standpoint from it.
Yeah, I'm not too sure. I just know that I'm a heck of a lot better race car driver than I was at this time last year.

Q. What would a championship tomorrow night mean, not just for you personally but for your career as a whole?
JUSTIN HALEY: Obviously it would mean a lot. You know, looking at it, the K&N Series was the first series I ever ran full‑time and I got a championship there. So to be able to move up the ladder and click off those championships would obviously be key. I think it would mean a lot for my family, though. We've put a lot into this sport, and to see all the heart and blood that they've put into it and how much love and support they have behind me has meant a lot. I want to do it for everyone in GMS and my family, as well. It would just be pretty cool. We've had a pretty killer season, though. It would be disappointment if we didn't win the championship, but it wouldn't be career ending.

Q. Have you let yourself think about that, what it would be like in the final laps here if you're in position to win it?
JUSTIN HALEY: Yeah, a little bit. You always think about it when you're in this position. You can't lie and say you're not. You know, I thought a lot about it when I was running for the East championship, as well. But I don't know, it's just‑‑ it's one of those things where you never know what's going to happen tomorrow night. Your motor could blow up lap 1. But like I said, as long as I had the opportunity to run for a championship, I'd make the most out of it, and I have the opportunity now. I'm planning on making the most out of it.

Q. I think I heard a stat that said your average finish coming into Phoenix in the playoff was 3.0, something around there. It wasn't that high in the regular season. What do you attribute the recent success with you and your team specifically to?
JUSTIN HALEY: It's a combination of a lot. I'd say probably those Xfinity starts, I go back on those. You see a lot of guys when‑‑ Ross Chastain, for example, he's running the J.D. Motorsports car full‑time in the Xfinity Series, and then he went to the Cup Series, even though it was a back marker car, he came back down and ran way better. I think it helped me to go up there and run the faster cars and get the experience with the more developed drivers. I attribute that a lot to it, but I think as a team we found a better package in our trucks, and what we were doing at the end of 2017 we've been doing a lot this year, and we found good speed, and me and my crew chief, we just bonded well at the beginning of this year, and it's just grown ever since.
Yeah, I don't know. I feel like we've just built as a total in the package we have and the setup we bring now and the amount of time and wind tunnel work that we do now is a lot more excessive than what we had been doing. It's just a lot of contributions everywhere.

Q. So the truck schedule, it's so stop and go, you start off with all this momentum and all this jubilation and then take off for a month. There wasn't a month in between all the races, but did you find that a little bit hard‑‑ your situation was different because you were locked in, but do you find it hard to stop for so long and then get back going again?
JUSTIN HALEY: Well, I don't know. Obviously it wasn't hard for me because we would win and then we'd come back and we'd run second. Then we'd win and we'd come back and run third. Then we'd win again and we'd come back and run third. I don't know, we've just been killer throughout the playoffs. I can't tell you why. The schedule really allowed me to have a lot of family time, and I know I'm only 19, but I've got a little younger sister who's going through kindergarten, and seeing her and going to her plays and shows and stuff like that were pretty special to me. Getting to spend a lot of time with family obviously everyone likes, so I had no complaints with it.

Q. Is Kaz your biggest fan going into this weekend?
JUSTIN HALEY: I don't know if Kaz is my biggest fan. I'd probably say my mom is, but Kaz is probably P2. He's going to be up on the pit box and probably giving me some advice on the radio. But I know I'm Kaz's biggest fan going into this weekend.

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