Kaulig Racing Still Working on Chase Waiver for Corey LaJoie

What’s Happening?

Following his surprise signing with Kaulig Racing’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series,  Kaulig CEO Chris Rice says the team is pursuing a Chase Waiver for driver Corey LaJoie.

Tuesday, Kaulig Racing announced the departure of driver Daniel Dye from its NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program, following controversial comments and a subsequent NASCAR/team suspension.

In his place, the team signed former NASCAR Cup Series regular and current NASCAR on Prime Analyst Corey LaJoie to take on full-time driving duties. 

Though LaJoie initially set out to earn points in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, with two starts in the Truck Series under his belt, fans wondered if the 34-year-old would be able to race for the series title.

Well, in a Thursday morning interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Kaulig CEO Chris Rice confirmed these plans.

Rice says that Kaulig has applied for LaJoie to pursue Truck Series points alongside a Chase Waiver, though neither seems to be a guarantee, with Rice saying:

“Yesterday we applied for him to get truck points, so we’ll see where that ends and a waiver to try to get to the playoffs.” — Chris Rice.

Will LaJoie Get a Waiver?

Playoff or Chase waivers are nothing new, and LaJoie is far from the first to attempt to switch what championship points he is pursuing. However, the real trouble could come from the Chase waiver.

Per the NASCAR rule book, drivers must compete in every race of a NASCAR season to be eligible for the postseason, or receive a waiver to do so if they miss any races.

Whether or not LaJoie gets that waiver is up to NASCAR.

Under similar circumstances, in 2020, Matt Kenseth replaced the then-suspended Kyle Larson four races into the season, and NASCAR granted Kenseth a waiver under the former Playoff system.

At the time, Kenseth had not entered any races that season. For LaJoie’s part, he already has two starts this season, one with Henderson Motorsports at Daytona and another with Kaulig at Darlington.

Even then, making the Chase will be the real challenge for LaJoie, as NASCAR’s new postseason system does not feature a “win and in” stipulation.

This means he will have to finish the Truck Series season in the top 12 in points. Right now, that cutline sits at 82 points, four races in.

How Did Kaulig End up in This Situation?

Initially, Kaulig, as part of Ram Truck’s return to NASCAR, planned to enter five full-time trucks with four full-time drivers in 2026.

This full-time roster included RAM: Race For the Seat winner Mini Tyrrell, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, Justin Haley, and Daniel Dye, with most drivers sporting in-house RAM or Mopar sponsors.

However, the week before the Truck Series race at Darlingotn, Dye was ousted from his ride on an indefinite suspension for comments made during an online livestream.

Though NASCAR said he would be reinstated after completing sensitivity training, Kaulig, who also suspended Dye, did not say whether or not he would be reinstated to the team, with A.J. Allmendinger driving the No. 10 that weekend.

Ahead of this weekend’s race at Rockingham, NASCAR reinstated Dye, but Kaulig and the driver parted ways, something they deemed a “resignation.”

LaJoie, who drove the No. 25 “Free Agent” truck at Darlington, and was slated to do so at The Rock this weekend, was moved to the No. 10 full-time, with Ty Dillon slated to drive the No. 25.

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