MADISON, Ill.—Three years and four months ago, Corey LaJoie delivered a handwritten note to team owner Rick Hendrick, detailing why he should be considered a candidate for the No. 48 Chevrolet upon Jimmie Johnson’s retirement.
LaJoie had Johnson’s encouragement. Hendrick had a different plan in mind. Nine months later, HMS announced Alex Bowman would drive the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet.
But this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway, LaJoie will finally have his opportunity—behind the wheel of the No. 9 Chevy. Chase Elliott’s one-race suspension for hooking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway opened the door for LaJoie to prove whether he’s ready for a prime-time seat in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“It’s like the dream is during the day right now,” LaJoie said. “I missed the call from Mr. Hendrick – he left me a voicemail. I woke up to it on Wednesday morning and I told my wife, ‘Honey, I missed the call.’ But luckily he answered when I called him back on Wednesday morning and since then, it’s been like drinking out of a fire hose.
“Just information, preparation and just a level of perfection that those guys expect is really cool to see for the first three or four days leading up to here at St. Louis.”
The third-generation racer doesn’t regret penning the heartfelt note. Upon further reflection, LaJoie now understands he wasn’t quite ready for the challenge. Just one season into his Cup career, the driver had yet to distinguish himself among his peers on the track in 2020.
The difference between Corey then and Corey now?
“Man, a lot,” LaJoie said with a smile. “The kids will do it. But just – I was watching the Netflix documentary on Connor McGregor on the way up here and that will fire you up, for one. But he had this quick saying – he’s training and the lead up before the fight with Khabib and he was mad. He just wasn’t focused and the chip on his shoulder was weighing him down as opposed to motivating him.
“And he said that whether it was – don’t eat that, then I ate it. I’m going to wake up at 6:00 a.m. and then you don’t wake up at 6:00 a.m. I’m going to go workout at this time and you don’t go workout at this time. So you string together these defeats, like these mental defeats, and then you don’t feel confident that when the big challenge comes that you can rise to the occasion.”
In the last seven seasons the third-generation racer has attempted to forge his way into the Cup Series. Until now, he’s never really been with a team that could showcase his potential. With the exception of his current ride at Spire Motorsports, most of the operations are now defunct.
In 214 starts, LaJoie has two top fives and six top 10s. He’ll start 30th for the Enjoy Illinois 300.
Off the track, LaJoie had plenty of personality. And over the last three years, the 31-year-old racer has built a cult following through his Stacking Pennies podcast and weekly appearances on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. He’s also established himself as one of the top safety advocates in the garage and is heavily involved in philanthropic endeavors.
Bowman, who was once in the Toyota driver development pipeline, experienced a similar ascent before landing at HMS as a test driver. He can appreciate the challenges LaJoie has faced.
“You respect somebody that grinds that much but we had vastly different approaches on how we went about it,” Bowman said. “When I was trying to do the same thing. I wasn’t talking about it every week. I was just trying to do it. Whereas, obviously, he does an incredible just of selling himself and promoting himself. Whereas, I felt like I didn’t do that at all.
“But I have a lot of respect for him and how good he is. I’m excited to see what he does with the opportunity.”
While one race does not make a racer’s career, it can certainly derail it. With the data teams have at their disposal—particularly a juggernaut such as HMS—LaJoie has tools at his disposal he could not have dreamed of since racing full time in NASCAR.
LaJoie’s good friend, current Cup champion Joey Logano, doesn’t necessary see this race as a make-or-break moment for the driver.
“The opportunity is huge for him, right,” Logano said. “He’s said for years all he needs is an opportunity. Here it is, right? He’s got the chance—which is great for him. The tough part for him, to be honest, is it’s only one race. It’s tough to jump into a race car where you don’t know the people.
“You don’t know what’s the difference between Chase Elliott and Corey Lajoie’s driving style and how do they get ready for a race? And as close as the field is today, whether you’re driving the 7 or the 9, is not as different as it has been in the past. It’s the little things that matter even more. And that communication is one of them. How they get ready.”
Logano understands the exponential jump from running at the back of the pack, to mid-pack and then racing against the weekly contenders in the sport.
“It’s going to be challenging for them to just expect to go out there and contend for the win,” Logano said. “It can happen, but it’s not as simple as just throwing a driver in there that has done well into the car that he’s in and expect, ‘Oh, he’s going to go win.’ It’s going to be tough. I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s gonna learn a lot.
“It’s different when you’re driving a fast car from driving what he’s been driving. As a driver, you have to learn how to race a fast car.”
Xfinity Series standout Josh Berry has been the HMS designated substitute driver this season. He’s also rumored to be the favorite to replace Kevin Harvick when he retires from the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at season’s end. However, with the Xfinity Series racing in Portland, Berry wasn’t available this weekend. That’s when the door opened for LaJoie.
“The difference is that Josh races for wins every week,” Logano said. “And Corey doesn’t. You have to learn how to race up front and learn how to win. Corey hasn’t had the opportunity to do that. So if he gets himself in the position, think about our green-white-checker. How many times has he been in the lead for green and white?
“There’s a whole new book of games that get played up there and he won’t have any notes to go back on for that it that’s the situation that happens. So, you have to race differently when you have a fast car compared to if you’re first or 10th. You race a certain way. There’s 10th through 20th. You race a certain way. And then there’s 25th on back where it’s a different race. And you call the race differently. You race the cars differently. You just have to learn how to race it.”
And for the first time in his career, LaJoie will have a crash course in racing on Sunday. Hopefully, not “crash” in the literal sense.
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer.
