In April 2025, NASCAR unveiled its latest Hall of Fame ballot, placing Kurt Busch and Randy LaJoie on the 10-person Modern Era list for the first time, while Jake Elder became the lone new addition to the five-person Pioneer ballot.
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Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion, collected 34 career victories before stepping away from full-time competition in 2022 following a qualifying crash at Pocono that left him injured.
On the other side, Randy LaJoie carved out a legacy of his own in the Busch Series (now Xfinity), claiming back-to-back series titles in 1996 and 1997 while driving the No. 74 Chevy for the Bill Baumgardner-owned BACE Motorsports. He tallied five wins in each championship season, leading the series in victories in 1996 and backing it up with his wins at Daytona and Darlington in 1997.
Reflecting on his Hall of Fame nomination during an appearance on RaceLine by Frontstretch with Rick Benjamin, LaJoie admitted his surprise. “I really thought I pissed them off a few times… Yeah, I was quite surprised and very honored. I mean, that’s no small task,” he said.
He added with a laugh, “I never thought I was going to be in a Hall of Fame [nominee list]. Then growing up you see the guys, I would go to the racetracks and you see the black jackets of New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame guys. And I was, ‘Oh, that guy’s an old racer.’ Well, now I got one of those jackets. I’m one of those old racers.”
Across his Xfinity career, LaJoie earned 15 victories, 118 top-10 finishes, and five consecutive top-10 points seasons from 1996 through 2000, in 350 series starts across a 19-years-long career. While he also ran in the Cup Series 44 times over 12 years, Randy did not win any races in the top tier.
LaJoie also earned a place among NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023, nearly two decades after running his last national series race in 2006. Before his Xfinity dominance, LaJoie spent three years in the NASCAR North Tour, winning 10 races, including five en route to the 1985 championship. Currently, he runs “The Joie of Seating,” an industry leader in racing seat safety.
While Randy LaJoie has long since hung up his helmet, his legacy continues through son Corey LaJoie, who currently competes part-time in both the NASCAR Cup and Truck Series.
