LaJoie relishing opportunity, lessons learned with Hendrick

Ahead of the biggest opportunity of his NASCAR Cup Series career, Corey Lajoie has been sleeping well.

A bit too well, in fact. He missed the initial call from Rick Hendrick that made his dreams come true on Wednesday morning. A voicemail from a number he didn’t have saved began with Hendrick saying he was excited, appreciated the help, and knew LaJoie would do a good job.

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“I told the wife, ‘Honey, I missed the call,” LaJoie said during a Saturday media availability.

But thankfully Hendrick answered when LaJoie called him back and confirmed the news. With Chase Elliott sitting out with a suspension for an intentional crash at the Coca-Cola 600, LaJoie was given the opportunity to drive his No. 9 Chevrolet at World Wide Technology Raceway. A full 25 years after his dad, Randy LaJoie, had filled in for the injured Ricky Craven at Hendrick Motorsports, Corey’s opportunity to drive for the NASCAR juggernaut had arrived.

In the moment it felt like something from the NASCAR video games in the mid-2000s.

“In NASCAR (2004), you would start your career mode in the bottom team,” he said. “Then you’d get the call up for the next team, and the next team. And then you’d get a notification on your phone from Rick Hendrick to drive that car.

“That’s what I felt like laying in bed on Wednesday morning talking to the wife. I was like, ‘My life is a video game right now.’

“It’s just non-stop progression and failure. Just falling short time-and-time again, but (I) keep taking steps forward to the goal of getting to the position that I am (in) right now. It’s been wild.”

The son of a two-time Xfinity Series champion, LaJoie has spent most of the past seven years competing in the Cup Series. Along the way he’s made slow, steady progress, rising from times as a back marker into a consistent midfield competitor.

This season has been his best to date. LaJoie sits 19th in points after 14 races, his 19.1 average finish a full 5.2 positions better than the 24.3 average he managed in 2022. The 31-year-old finished fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway and has eight top-20 finishes so far for Spire Motorsports – a team that’s traditionally filled the back of the grid since its arrival.

LaJoie’s improvement has been notable, catching the eye of many in the series. With the Xfinity Series racing in Portland, far from the Cup date at World Wide Technology Raceway, Hendrick needed a new option from recent super-sub Josh Berry.