Many racers in NASCAR crossed paths when they cut their teeth in dirt cars or clawed their way up the stock-car ladder, but Corey LaJoie and Bubba Wallace had a bonding long before either of them chased checkered flags. Their connection dates to high school, where, as LaJoie revealed in 2019, the two not only sat in the same classrooms but also traveled the same daily route.
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LaJoie lived just six minutes from the future 23XI Racing driver, so he picked him up every morning and dropped him off every afternoon, a routine that became second nature during those years.
When LaJoie recounted the story of how he once mocked Wallace for “paying” him a mere $20 as gas money, he narrated it in a way that still draws laughs. He recalled the year Wallace handed him a birthday card with a twenty tucked inside.
“He’s like, ‘Hey man, happy birthday, and here’s some gas money. Thanks for being a good friend.’ 20 bucks? For three years of driving you? Every day, you give me 20 bucks of gas money? That’s been the running joke forever.”
LaJoie added more fuel to the memory. “Every time I see Bubba, ‘I gave you gas money!’’. ‘Well yeah d***head 20 bucks was probably after three weeks, I drove you for three years!’ Me and him have been buddies for a long time. It’s funny, we were actually talking about it.”
LaJoie further explained that he, Wallace, and Daniel Hemric had been sitting together reminiscing, and the conversation struck a familiar chord because Hemric grew up just five minutes from them as well. Racing at the highest level with friends he once ran bandoleros with, he felt like watching old dreams come full circle, a moment LaJoie described as “pretty damn cool.”
Their shared history resurfaced in 2018 as well, when the duo returned to their alma mater, Northwest Cabarrus High School. They handed out 200 sets of shoes to students nominated by their teachers as deserving recipients. Rack Room Shoes provided the footwear, and Shoes That Fit assisted with the distribution, extending support to kids who often slip through the cracks.
At that point also, Wallace didn’t leave a chance to slip in a jab aimed straight at his longtime friend’s nickname. Nodding to Corey “Super Shoe” LaJoie, he said, “If you have the nickname Super Shoe, you have to do something around shoes.”
The two competed side by side in the Cup Series on a full-time basis until last year. This season, however, LaJoie did not land a full-time role and made only four starts with Rick Ware Racing, while Wallace continued his run with 23XI Racing. LaJoie still searches for his breakthrough at NASCAR’s top level, with three ARCA Series wins standing as his lone victories.
Wallace, meanwhile, has stacked six Truck Series wins and three Cup triumphs, a journey that shows how far both high school kids have traveled since those six-minute car rides.
