Article Highlights:
- Corey LaJoie will drive the No. 7 Chevy one again in the NASCAR Cup Series
- Fellow driver Parker Kligerman captured LaJoie’s utter failure handling a jack for the pit crew
- LaJoie and his wife recently revealed they’re awaiting the birth of their second child
Corey LaJoie may know his way around a track, albeit without much success, but the NASCAR Cup Series driver definitely can use some help with a jack. Video showing LaJoie hanging out with the guys on his team confirms his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame is better suited to driving cars than preparing them during tire changes.
Corey LaJoie will remain in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022
Changes abound in the NASCAR Cup Series, with charters and drivers on the move for the 2022 season. His Spire Motorsports team was a key player in the charters market this year, but Corey LaJoie is staying put with the organization.
Spire began the year with three charters, one of which went to Trackhouse Racing in a lease agreement. In an aggressive move to cement its plan to join the Cup Series, Kaulig Racing purchased two of the charters late this spring. The Kaulig organization then turned around and announced that driver Justin Haley would also be moving from Spire to the new team.
Still holding one charter, Spire Racing subsequently announced that LaJoie will keep the No. 7 Chevy seat. With only one car to worry about in 2022, the Spire executives are banking on being able to pour all their attention into that ride in Year 1 of the Next Gen car.
To date, LaJoie doesn’t have much of a racing resume. Aside from being winless, he has registered just four top-10 finishes in 164 Cup Series races.
When last NASCAR fans saw him, LaJoie was ending Bubba Wallace’s season prematurely by taking out the No. 23 Toyota seven laps into the Championship 4 race in Phoenix. On the restart, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun LaJoie into the wall. LaJoie was able to finish but was 31 laps off the pace by the time Kyle Larson took the checkered flag.
Corey LaJoie can’t risk giving up his NASCAR day job
(Warning: The above video is slightly NSFW due to a brief bit of language.)
NASCAR Cup Series teams have been busy this fall shaking the bugs out of the Next Gen cars. The vehicles debut in February at the Los Angeles Coliseum in The Clash. The ongoing testing brought numerous teams and drivers to Charlotte, North Carolina, last week, but it wasn’t all business.
Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie tried his hand at helping the pit crew. It proved to be anything but an uplifting experience for either the driver’s psyche or the car. Fellow driver Parker Kligerman captured video of LaJoie’s epic fail. No matter how much muscle and leverage the host of the Stacking Pennies podcast put into the jack, the car barely moved, and he generated maybe two inches of clearance.
“I ain’t got the a** for it,” LaJoie joked.
The driver and his wife are expecting their second child
Veteran NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie, 30, and his wife Kelly recently announced on social media that they are expecting their second child next summer. Kelly LaJoie gave birth to Levi Ronnie in March 2020.
That lends a little more urgency to the driver with respect to establishing himself as a contender on the racing circuit, especially since he’ll never cut it as the guy manning the jack for a pit crew.
All stats courtesy of Racing Reference.
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