Corey LaJoie feels like he has hit a jackpot after he was selected to stand in for Brad Keselowski at Bowman Gray Stadium for the Clash, along with landing a seat with RFK Racing for the Daytona 500 as the organization resurrects the No. 99 entry.
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The outfit aims to level the playing field against heavyweights like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing at superspeedway events with LaJoie’s oncoming. However, the former Cup Series full-timer recently disclosed that the opportunity didn’t materialize overnight.
Though no commitments filled his 2026 calendar until the offseason, LaJoie was engaged in discussions with Keselowski and Chip Bowers, RFK Racing’s President, around the onset of last year’s playoffs regarding a few superspeedway outings in 2026. The conversation came from Brad’s conviction that RFK lacked numerical strength compared to Chevrolet and Toyota stables when finishing races at drafting tracks, hampering them from capturing victories.
During the latest episode of his Stacking Pennies podcast, LaJoie peeled back the curtain. “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…”
“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,” narrated the former Spire driver..
Before that interruption, 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.’ 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.’”
LaJoie 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, though that scenario would shelve the team’s fourth entry. Complicating matters further, LaJoie recognized Keselowski’s competitive instincts, and even with a broken leg, there was little doubt that Keselowski would exhaust every option to make the Daytona 500 grid.
Once the RFK co-owner’s recovery appeared promising enough to tackle the famed 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.
Corey also mentioned that he and Carl Edwards plan to mark the occasion with social media activities in the coming week. As LaJoie 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.
