Corey LaJoie Will Race in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series
What’s Happening? Corey LaJoie will race in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025 with Rick Ware Racing in the No. 01….
Following his announcement that he will race part-time in 2025, an interview with Corey LaJoie caused online controversy. Some fans and industry members felt his comments were derogatory about the Xfinity and Truck Series. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s Happening? Corey LaJoie will race in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025 with Rick Ware Racing in the No. 01….
Corey LaJoie announced Monday that he will race part-time with Rick Ware Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. This follows six years of full-time Cup Series competition and reiterated that he is focused on Cup Series racing.
However, some fans wondered throughout his free agency if he should look to one of NASCAR’s lower series. However, throughout the process, LaJoie seemed determined to find some form of Cup Series ride in an ever-slimming market.
LaJoie addressed this topic in an interview with Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. Pockrass asked LaJoie why he has a “different outlook” from drivers who prefer to be competitive in the Truck or Xfinity Series.
“Those guys who say they want to win, they win one or two truck races a year, and then they become lifelong truck guys, and they never get the race on Sunday,” said LaJoie.
While comments like this would surely spark controversy, his follow-up comment further cemented his belief that racing on Sunday, even part-time, is the best it can get.
“Do you wanna go pump the ego up and hold a trophy on a Friday when there’s 12 people in the grandstands? No, I wanna compete against the best because I feel like with every group that I’ve been, groups that I’ve built from the ground up, any given Sunday, we can go contend for a win whether it just speedway, and we can run top-ten any given week.” — Corey LaJoie
Every NASCAR Series has its fans; some even watch Trucks or Xfinity almost exclusively. While LaJoie was simply sharing his opinion, fans and even those in the NASCAR industry these comments were derogatory about those series.
The main problem that several fans have had with these comments stems from Lajoie’s family history. LaJoie is a third-generation racer; his dad, Randy, was a NASCAR regular and fan favorite for over two decades.
Despite starting only 44 Cup Series races—228 less than his son—Randy made the 2023 NASCAR 75 Greatest Drivers list. The elder LaJoie’s inclusion on this list is due to his time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, in which Randy won 15 races and two titles in 1996 and 1997.
While fans focused on what they deemed family hypocrisy, others, such as Truck Series team owner Josh Reaume, approached Lajoie’s comments with understanding yet frustration at what he deemed insulting comments.
While some were frustrated by LaJoie’s comments, some were less focused on what he said at end of his statement. Returning as sponsors of LaJoie in 2025 are Schluter Systems and Celsius. LaJoie is a great ambassador for these brands through his racing and podcast, “Stacking Pennies.”
At the end of his response, LaJoie claimed that he has a priority to take his sponsors to the biggest stage as much as possible.
“So I can’t also justify to my partners that have been invested in me to go down to the lower divisions because they don’t get a return for their money,” LaJoie said. They want to bring their people to the big show, not to a Friday or Saturday show.”
This is a reminder that sponsorship is what factors into almost any off-track and, as many are now realizing, on-track decisions made in NASCAR. As loyal to them as they are to him, he is focused on giving those who have invested in him, the best return for their money.
However, as Eric Estepp of Out of the Groove reminded fans, while this is important, LaJoie’s comments about the lower NASCAR National Series should not be over looked.
While LaJoie’s priorities lie with his sponsors, the NASCAR community seems to feel that he should be more respectful of his peers at all levels of competition. This latest online drama only adds to what will be a major year in LaJoie’s NASCAR career, with many feeling he needs to prove himself now more than ever.
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