Corey Lajoie Blown Away by First Visit to Hendrick NASCAR Empire

• Corey LaJoie, a third-generation New Englander, has only two top-5 finishes and six top-10s in his 214-race Cup Series career dating back eight years.

• He was recruited by team owner Rick Hendrick to substitute for former champion Chase Elliott, who was suspended from this week's 300-miler.

• Understandably—especially considering his thin resume—LaJoie briefly questioned himself, wondering whether he’s good enough to fill in for Elliott.

“It’s a different world.”

Those four words from journeyman NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie sum up the difference in the mid-level Spire Motorsports team he drives for on a regular basis and the Hendrick Motorsports ride he’s inherited for this weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis.

LaJoie, a third-generation New Englander, has only two top-5 finishes and six top-10s in his 214-race Cup Series career dating back eight years. But he’s never been in equipment as good as the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro he’ll drive on Sunday. He was recruited by team owner Rick Hendrick to substitute for former champion Chase Elliott, who was suspended from the 300-miler after officials said he intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin last weekend at Charlotte.

Josh Berry, who drove the No. 9 car in six early-season races while Elliott recovered from a broken left leg, wasn’t available since the Xfinity Series is at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway this weekend. Elliott is expected back next weekend for the Cup race at Sonoma, Ca.

LaJoie got a “this might happen” heads-up from Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson around mid-day on Tuesday, while Elliott’s status was being determined. “Yeah, it was like, ‘if this happens, you’re going to fill-in,’ ” LaJoie said of the call. “I was like, ‘are you punking me?’ Don’t punk me right now.’ And Jeff was like – ‘no, no it’s happening.’

“Since then, it’s been like drinking out of a fire hose.

“Just information, preparation and a level of perfection that those guys (the Hendrick organization) expect is really cool to see for the first three or four days leading up to St. Louis. The opportunity to drive for Mr. Hendrick is once in a lifetime. The entire group is just as professional as it gets.”

LaJoie visited the HMS campus on Wednesday to meet with crew chief Alan Gustafson and the No. 9 team. He immediately realized – when he walked in the front door, in fact – that things were different at Hendrick from the modest surroundings he’s accustomed to at Spire.

“Their goal is to win races and championships,” said LaJoie, son of two-time Xfinity Series champion Randy LaJoie. “The more time I spent there … you can walk through the lobby and tell why they’re so successful. I got there around 7:15 on Wednesday morning and spent about an hour and a half with Alan and his engineers, and walked through the shop. Around 8:30, we went to the simulators and spent some time there. They have 500 people over there with the same mentality, and it’s like—okay, that’s why they’re so freaking good.

“I thought I knew what we didn’t have at Spire Motorsports, but I had no idea. There are tools those (Hendrick) guys have, intellectual properties that even some of the other (Chevrolet) teams don’t have. The biggest thing I noticed was the people and the attitude of the pursuit of perfection. All the key (manufacturer) partners have the same data, but Hendrick has an unbelievable way of delegating, taking, compacting and making it digestible for a driver, an engineer, a crew chief.”

After spending time at the Hendrick shop, LaJoie sent a text to Dickerson. “‘I can’t believe Spire and Hendrick race in the same series,'” he wrote. “(Spire) is closer to a good truck team. If (Hendrick) is what a Cup team is, then holy cow, we’ve got a long way to go. But it’s fun sometimes to carry that chip on your shoulder and try to be the ones that are beating the Goliaths.”

Understandably—especially considering his thin resume—LaJoie briefly questioned himself, wondering whether he’s good enough to fill in for Elliott, accepted as one of NASCAR’s top stars, the sport’s most popular driver, and an 18-time winner.

“There was a lot of self-doubt that crept in (Tuesday) night,” he acknowledged. “Like, ‘can I do it?’ It’s like ‘put up or shut up.’ You’re wrestling around and you’re like wrestling these emotions of scared and nervous. Then you wake up Wednesday morning, go to the shop, walk in there for the first five minutes, and realize just the collective focus of that group.

“(But) once you put the helmet on … the talking and the interviews and all the things that come along with that is the noise. But the noise stops when you put on the helmet. You drive (the No. 9) no different than I would the No. 7.”

Note to LaJoie: the Hendrick people will expect more than just that.