Justin Haley: 2023’s Safest Full-Time NASCAR Cup Series Driver

For the second consecutive season, Justin Haley proved to be the safest full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver on track, based on calculations from TobyChristie.com’s Toby Tracker analyzing on-track incidents throughout the entire 2023 season.

RELATED: 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Incident Tracker

Driving the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing, Haley finished the 2023 season with just nine on-track incidents over 36 races, resulting in 0.250 incidents per race. Despite a slight increase in incidents compared to 2022, where he had seven on-track incidents, Haley managed to show good speed as well. The 24-year-old finished as the runner-up in the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race at Chicago and achieved a career-best six top-10 finishes in 2023.

In 2024, Haley will make the move to Rick Ware Racing.

Following Haley on the safest driver list for 2023 were Championship 4 contender William Byron, who won six races, and three-time race winner Chris Buescher, both ending the season with 10 incidents.

Since the introduction of the NASCAR Next Gen car in 2022, the number of on-track incidents has significantly increased. In 2023, eight drivers totaled 20 or more incidents, while in 2022 — the first season of the Next Gen car — 14 drivers recorded 20 or more on-track incidents.

It’s worth noting that many drivers were able to rebound after early incidents, leading to sustained Playoff runs. Among the eight drivers with over 20 incidents in 2023, Erik Jones and Championship 4 contender Christopher Bell led with 24 incidents. Kyle Larson, another Championship 4 contender, recorded 23 incidents, while NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney amassed 22 incidents during the year.

Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez, and Brad Keselowski had 21 incidents, as Denny Hamlin ended the year with 20. Out of the 64 drivers that competed in 2023, only seven made it through the year without recording an incident, and no incident-free driver competed in more than two races.

While Haley was the safest driver, overall, in 2023, Corey LaJoie was the lone full-time driver to complete all 36 races without a single DNF, amassing 18 incidents and boasting a 0.500 incident per race ratio. Kevin Harvick and Chris Buescher had one DNF each, while Chase Briscoe had two in 2023.

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