Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin couldn’t finish his race at Daytona last weekend after being caught in a Stage 2 wreck. The result severely hurt his chances of finishing at the pinnacle of the points table. The disappointed driver had been quick to point the blame at the Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie after being released from the infield care center.
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He wrote on X that the No. 7 driver caused the wreck. Fans picked up on his words and began casting a lot of ill-will towards LaJoie. He then went on Actions Detrimental and reiterated the stance. Watching these unfold did not leave the Spire driver feeling pleasant. In an appearance on Stacking Pennies, he detailed what went down during said incident and pointed the finger at Kyle Larson.
He said, “I sent some texts about it yesterday to people who pointed some blame at me. One, it’s the cool thing right now to make fun of Corey – for how my f****** year is going. And two, if anybody would have went back and watched some SMT, the No. 5 caused about three wrecks, this being the first one.” He believes that Larson was being unnecessarily aggressive throughout the day.
Larson and the No. 5 team haven’t been at their best on superspeedway races despite having a fast car. LaJoie’s opinion is that the awareness and helplessness of that situation is what could’ve fueled the driver to drive brashly. He then explained that his brake pedal was leaking from the jump following Larson’s push into his back bumper.
LaJoie explains the implications of Larson’s contact with him
The brake pedal on the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro had gone to the floor for some reason before he spun. He added that he makes it a point to not push drivers in front of him on superspeedways, unless he is driving in the lead, and to not throw late blocks that could get him in a crash.
He continued, “So, when um I’m getting smashed, I’m trying to hold my car down with the brake pedal. The No. 10 gets squirrely, bounces off the 51, and checks the whole lane up.” The only weird factor that came out of the entire sequence for him was the aggressiveness of the No. 5 car.
LaJoie is currently awaiting the end of his run with Spire Motorsports. He will be relieved of his duties at the end of the ongoing season. His future in the Cup Series is uncertain but situations like the one at Daytona certainly do not help his case. He will need to stay out of trouble and stop wrecking his car to have a shot at securing a ride for 2025.
