NASCAR has officially stated that NASCAR Cup Series driver Justin Haley will NOT be eligible to compete for the 2022 Rookie of the Year Award, despite it being his first full-time season on the circuit. The decision was made based off of his experience in his 36 part-time starts in the series over the past 3 seasons. As NASCAR has no set criteria in choosing the ROTY status for drivers, they decide them case-by-case, making the outcomes of the decisions quite interesting at times. 
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We will take a peek at his stats from all of his current starts on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit, all of them taking place while running for points in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Justin Haley's first NASCAR Cup Series start came at Talladega Superspeedway during the 2019 "Geico" 500, piloting the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports. He would return to the team for the race at Sonoma Raceway, and then another superspeedway race to wrap up the year: Daytona International Speedway. That race would become one of the many firsts for Haley's NASCAR career.
As it would turnout, the 2019 "Coke Zero Sugar" 400 would fall under caution on Lap 120 due to a multi-car crash, and Justin Haley happened to cycle to the lead from different pit strategies and would go on to be called the winner of the race. NASCAR would not bring the field back under green flag racing conditions as a rainstorm started to develop over the racetrack.
The 2020 Season would only bring two NASCAR Cup Series starts for the young driver: One of them coming at the Daytona 500, where he would finish 13th. On the other hand, Haley would have a chance at 33 starts in NASCAR's top division, only two of those starts he would miss due to Covid or medical protocols. In all of Haley's current NASCAR Cup Series starts, which adds up to 36, he has had one win, and 3 top-10 finishes.
Of course, NASCAR doesn't have any set rules on who can run for the ROTY award and who can't, but I do think that this was a far ruling on NASCAR's part. So, for the most part, this leaves Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, and Todd Gililland to fight for the award in 2022.
Justin Haley, with 36 starts in Cup experience (and one win), wasn't granted rookie status for 2022 in Cup (it's his first full season) ... Of his 36 races, he did 31 races last yr while vying for Xfinity title ... There is no set criteria; NASCAR decides on case-by-case basis.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 18, 2022
NASCAR hasn't given us a list yet but Cindric, HBurton, Gilliland would be expected to be rookie eligible. https://t.co/rwLpkgUJoR
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 18, 2022
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