Equipment quality determines NASCAR success just as much as talent, and it is something we have seen multiple times over the years. Drivers changing teams can alter their fortunes almost immediately. We saw it with Kyle Larson moving to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 and Chase Briscoe moving to Joe Gibbs Racing. Now, Corey LaJoie is ready to do the same in 2026 with RFK Racing.
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LaJoie has previously raced for the likes of Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports, Go Fas Racing, TriStar Motorsports, BK Racing, and Randy Humphrey Racing. He also made one start at Gateway for Hendrick Motorsports in 2023, finishing 21st. His journeyman path through underfunded teams obscured his true capabilities, leaving fans and insiders unsure whether he lacked skill or simply lacked the machinery to showcase it.
Now, he will collaborate with a major organization like RFK Racing, and on a track where he has performed reasonably well in the past. It marks his first real opportunity to compete with championship-caliber equipment and full organizational support.
Given he will drive the No. 99 Ford Mustang in the Daytona 500 alongside three other RFK Racing drivers, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Ryan Preece, multiple superspeedway winners in the group, LaJoie stated, “It gives me a lot of confidence. I went down there with no friends and made the race as an Open car for the first time. I went there last year with relatively no friends with Rick, and we executed the Duels great, and we made the race.”
“So to have more or less a factory-supported Ford car to try to make the race, and just strength in numbers is why RFK is doing it… I feel like we’re gonna have some good backup to put ourselves in a good position, but we also can’t let our guard down. We’ve got to press, and we’ve got to go attack to make sure we cover everybody else. But, for me, I go down there with all eyes focused on executing the details on Thursday night to be in the race.”
He even had a shot to drive Keselowski’s No. 6 car in the main event of the Clash race at Bowman Gray ahead of the 500 race at Daytona. But during the final laps of the Last Chance Qualifier, as AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, and LaJoie were duking it out for one position to make the 200-lap Clash, Josh Berry put the pedal to the metal and left them eating his dust.
Although Allmendinger was running second behind Berry at one point, LaJoie sidelined Allmendinger, and while the duo raced side-by-side, Cindric entered the picture.
At the end of the Qualifier, Cindric managed to finish just behind Berry to advance to the main event. And that left Corey LaJoie in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford in third with Allmendinger fourth in the No. 16 Chevrolet of Kaulig Racing on the outside looking in.
LaJoie could not crack the Clash, but he will need to perform better at the Daytona 500 to have a chance to secure more starts in the upcoming Cup season. If he manages to deliver results at Daytona, it will validate long-held suspicions that circumstances rather than ability limited his achievements. However, if he struggles again, it would indicate that he belongs exactly where previous performance placed him.
