It did not take long for Corey LaJoie to get mired up in controversy during the Cup Series race in Watkins Glen. The No. 7 Spire Motorsports driver caused a multi-car wreck on the race’s opening lap and caused extensive damage to many playoff drivers. While the fans were quick to exact blame on him, how much of the incident was actually his fault? Denny Hamlin provided his insight on Actions Detrimental.
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He said, “It looked like the No. 7, Corey, just hit the rumble strips a little bit wrong and it shot him into the door of the No. 8. Spun out the No. 8 and stack-up ensued.” Upon contact from LaJoie, the No. 8 Camaro of Kyle Busch crashed into Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Hamlin himself among others. Blaney had to retire his car while the others carried on with the damage.
Hamlin eventually finished his race in 23rd place but it was a far from ideal result. He collected 15 points but is now below the Round of 12 elimination line with only the Bristol race to go. He continued to point out how it was the third time in four races he was getting caught in a wreck that he had nothing to do with. LaJoie is certainly making life harder for his competitors albeit, not in a positive way.
The Spire Motorsports driver went on to finish in eighth place and help his team make history. With Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith securing top-5 positions, the Watkins Glen race ended up being the first time Spire had three drivers in the top-10. While this isn’t going to help him retain his seat with the team in 2025 it could make him an attractive catch in the eyes of a different outfit.
Could a Cup Series team be interested in crash-prone LaJoie?
Options are few for the 32-year-old driver but as it appears, Rick Ware Racing (RWR) might have an opening for him. Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic reported earlier this week that the team might be looking to complete a swap with Spire Motorsports and bring in LaJoie to replace Justin Haley.
Haley does have a year remaining on his contract with RWR but then, so did LaJoie with Spire. A trade between the two teams could be completed in the upcoming weeks. LaJoie could certainly use the change of atmosphere to get back on track with his performances and skills.
Unfortunately, he has consistently let his rookie teammate Hocevar outrun him in 2024. Put together with incidents like the one that played out at Watkins Glen, the show of inferiority could cause team owners to hesitate before putting their pens to paper. As things stand, the scale could tip either way for LaJoie.
