Corey LaJoie must be feeling like a winner of a jackpot after how the 2026 season is set to start for him. He has been selected to stand in for Brad Keselowski at Bowman Gray Stadium for the Clash. The 34-year-old has also landed a seat with RFK Racing for the Daytona 500 to drive the No. 99 entry.
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By getting the No.99 car into the grid, RFK Racing is aiming to level the playing field against heavyweights like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing at superspeedway events. However, LaJoie recently disclosed that the opportunity didn’t materialize overnight.
LaJoie was engaged in discussions with Keselowski and RFK Racing president Chip Bowers during last year’s playoffs regarding a few superspeedway outings in 2026. The conversation came from Brad’s belief that RFK lacked numerical strength compared to Chevrolet and Toyota stables when finishing races at drafting tracks. This was preventing them from capturing victories.
During the latest episode of his Stacking Pennies podcast, LaJoie shared some more details. “Right about the start of the playoffs last year… we had been talking about trying to run five or six races this year. So, we had just been kicking around, not really moving the ball down the field,” he said.
“And Chip Bowers, new president of RFK, we were having coffee over at Perkile, maybe two-three days before Christmas, and he got the call from Brad that he just broke his femur,” added the former Spire driver.
Before Keselowski’s accident, the pair were busy exchanging ideas. “Chip said, ‘Man, we’ve got partners, and we’re trying to put together a package to go run a fourth car because we feel like you’re the guy to do it, and we need some strength and numbers,’ LaJoie continued.
“And he gets the call, and he didn’t tell me that Brad broke his leg. So Brad calls me. ‘Hey man, would love for you to help out here, drive the car at the Clash,’” added LaJoie, who found himself in limbo, unsure how events would further develop, because he suspected the team might ask him to drive the No. 6 at Daytona as well. That scenario would shelve the team’s fourth entry.
LaJoie also knew about Keselowski’s competitive instincts, and even with a broken leg, there was little doubt that he would exhaust every option to make the Daytona 500 grid. Once the RFK co-owner’s recovery appeared promising enough to tackle the season opener, the team accelerated plans for the fourth entry and secured backing from in-house partner Trimble.
With RFK eager to expand and strengthen its operation, LaJoie received the call to take on the role. LaJoie also mentioned that he and Carl Edwards plan to mark the occasion with social media activities in the coming week. As he put it, Edwards is eager about seeing the iconic No. 99 roll back onto the track, happy with the idea of bringing it back to life with RFK.
