Corey LaJoie Bio
Corey Daniel LaJoie (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver and analyst for NASCAR on Prime Video. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, he last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the NASCAR Cup Series. Standing 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing around 180 pounds, LaJoie is the son of two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie, giving him one of the most recognizable surnames in American motorsports.
Early Life and Background
Corey Daniel LaJoie was born on September 25, 1991, in Charlotte, North Carolina, a city widely considered the home base of stock car racing. Growing up in the heart of NASCAR country, he was surrounded by engines, race shops, and the rhythms of the sport from an early age. His father, Randy LaJoie, is one of the most respected short-track and Busch Series drivers of his era, capturing the NASCAR Busch Series championship in 1996 and 1997. That family pedigree made racing less of a hobby and more of a daily conversation at the LaJoie household.
LaJoie began his racing career in 1996 at a very young age, competing in karting events on both dirt and asphalt tracks, where he picked up 19 victories. In 2003, he advanced to the INEX Bandolero series, scoring twelve wins and a Summer Shootout Championship. By 2005, he had moved into Legends cars, and a year later he stepped up to the Aaron’s Pro Challenge Series, where he won 10 of 12 starts.
Path to NASCAR
Between 2007 and 2009, LaJoie cut his teeth in the UARA-Stars Late Model Touring Series, posting one win and ten top-ten finishes across seventeen starts. In 2009, he made his NASCAR Camping World East Series debut at Thompson Speedway, signaling his arrival on a national ladder. He stayed in that series through 2012, claiming his first East Series win at Bowman Gray Stadium in June of that year and adding four more victories to finish second in the season standings.
Named to the 2012 NASCAR Next class of rising talents, LaJoie transitioned to the ARCA Racing Series in 2013, winning his first start of the year at Chicagoland Speedway and following it with another win at Pocono Raceway. That same year, he signed with Richard Petty Motorsports as a development driver and made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November 2013, finishing 34th after an on-track incident.
Corey LaJoie Career
Early Career (2010–2013)
LaJoie captured the 2010 Atlanta 150 in the ARCA Menards Series East, establishing himself as a winner before he reached the national tours. Across his ARCA Menards Series career, he recorded three wins, four top-ten finishes, and a pole, with his best overall points finish coming in 2013. In the ARCA Menards Series East, he was even more dominant, posting six wins, 22 top-ten finishes, a pole, and a best points finish of second in 2012.
His development path included time as a driver in the Richard Petty Motorsports and JGL Racing stable, and he also piloted entries for Biagi-DenBeste Racing, Tommy Baldwin Racing, and Randy Humphrey Racing during this period. Those rides gave him Cup, Xfinity, and Truck exposure in small doses, including his Sprint Cup Series debut in the 2014 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Cup Series Breakthrough (2014–2020)
LaJoie returned to the Cup Series in 2017 with BK Racing, driving the No. 83 part-time. He made headlines during Speedweeks at Daytona, spinning Reed Sorenson in the tri-oval to clinch a spot in the 2017 Daytona 500 as an Open team, a moment he later called part of the price of admission to the sport. In 2018, he moved to TriStar Motorsports for a part-time schedule, splitting the No. 72 with Cole Whitt before the team shut down at year’s end.
In 2019, LaJoie joined Go Fas Racing’s No. 32 Ford, with Old Spice famously plastering his face on the hood. He scored two top-ten finishes that year, including a sixth at Daytona’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 and a seventh at Talladega’s 1000Bulbs.com 500, both drafting tracks that suited his style. He returned to the No. 32 in 2020 and finished a career-best eighth in the Daytona 500 after tangling with an airborne Ryan Newman coming to the line, an incident that left Newman briefly hospitalized but LaJoie uninjured. He announced his departure from Go Fas Racing in August 2020.
Spire Motorsports Era (2021–2024)
LaJoie moved to Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet in 2021 on a multi-year agreement, taking on a leadership role at a young organization. In March 2022, his crew chief Ryan Sparks was suspended for four races after a wheel came off the car at Phoenix, and weeks later at Atlanta, LaJoie led a career-best 19 laps before being overhauled by Chase Elliott with two laps remaining, a near-miss that became one of the most talked-about finishes of the season. He also added a Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 win in 2022, one of the highlights of his Spire tenure.
The 2023 season was his best statistically. LaJoie opened with a 16th-place run in the Daytona 500, posted consistent top-20 and top-30 finishes, and finished 25th in the Cup Series standings, his highest points result. Notably, he was the only driver to complete every race without a single DNF. On May 30, 2023, he was chosen as a substitute driver for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 9 at Gateway while Chase Elliott served a one-race suspension. In 2024, he earned a top-ten at Darlington, his first at a non-drafting track, and was involved in two dramatic flips, at Talladega and Michigan, becoming the first Cup driver to flip twice in a season since Rusty Wallace in 1993. He announced his departure from Spire in July 2024.
Rick Ware Racing Era (2024–Present)
On September 20, 2024, Rick Ware Racing announced that LaJoie would move to the team’s No. 51 for the remainder of the season, with Justin Haley taking over the No. 7 at Spire. In January 2025, RWR confirmed a part-time 2025 schedule for LaJoie in the rebranded No. 01, a former No. 15 entry, beginning with the Daytona 500. He raced his way into the 500 with a sixth-place finish in Duel 2, started 12th, and led laps late before being collected in a last-lap incident triggered by a block from Cole Custer.
On June 2, 2025, Spire Motorsports announced that LaJoie would return to the Craftsman Truck Series for nine races later that season, driving the No. 07 to a fifth-place finish at Michigan. On August 11, 2025, Spire moved him to the No. 77 for the balance of the Truck schedule following Andrés Pérez de Lara’s departure. In January 2026, he was revealed as a replacement for an injured Brad Keselowski in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, and later that month he attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 in RFK Racing’s No. 99, though a last-lap Duel wreck kept him out of the 500.
Driving Style and Strengths
LaJoie’s strongest performances have consistently come at drafting tracks, where his superspeedway instincts and willingness to commit to bold moves have produced top-ten runs at Daytona and Talladega. He has also shown late-race composure on intermediates and road courses, evidenced by top-fives at Atlanta and a top-ten at Watkins Glen. His comfort with broadcast and podcast work, including the Stacking Pennies platform, has also made him a more media-savvy presence in the garage.
Notable Races and Milestones
Signature moments include the 2010 Atlanta 150 win, the 2022 Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 victory, his near-miss Atlanta Cup finish against Chase Elliott, the 2017 Daytona 500 qualifying spin of Reed Sorenson, the 2020 Daytona 500 eighth-place run, and back-to-back Cup flips in 2024 at Talladega and Michigan, the latter a first since Rusty Wallace in 1993. Each race added to his reputation as a versatile and resilient driver willing to race anywhere on the track.
Corey LaJoie Career Wins
Across national and regional NASCAR and ARCA competition, Corey Daniel LaJoie has built a wins list that spans stock car ladders and touring series. His national-level victories are limited, but he has been a steady winner in developmental series and a consistent top-ten threat on the right Cup tracks.
Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series Highlights
In the NASCAR Cup Series, LaJoie has yet to record a win, with zero victories, 11 top-ten finishes, and no poles across his career. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (Xfinity) Series, he has zero wins, two top-ten finishes, and no poles, with a best points finish of 31st in 2016. In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he has zero wins, ten top-ten finishes, and no poles, with a 2025 best points finish of 24th.
Other Wins and Performances
LaJoie has been far more prolific in regional competition. In the ARCA Menards Series, he has three wins, four top-ten finishes, and a pole, with a best points result of 22nd in 2013. In the ARCA Menards Series East, he racked up six wins, 22 top-ten finishes, and a pole, with a best points finish of second in 2012. He also added early wins in karts, Bandolero, and the Aaron’s Pro Challenge Series, plus a Late Model victory with the UARA-Stars Touring Series.
Corey LaJoie Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
The LaJoie family is woven into the fabric of American stock car racing. Corey’s father, Randy LaJoie, is a two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion, winning the title in 1996 and 1997, and remains one of the most respected short-track veterans in the country. Corey has credited his father’s work ethic and race craft as a guiding force in his own career, and the family name continues to carry weight in NASCAR paddocks.
Personal Life
Corey LaJoie is married to Kelly LaJoie, and the couple has three sons: Levi Ronnie LaJoie, Jenson Daniel LaJoie, and Pierce Jackson (PJ) LaJoie. A professed Christian, LaJoie has long been active in podcasting, including the Stacking Pennies show on NASCAR.com, and previously co-hosted Motor Racing Network’s Sunday Money podcast. He is also active on social media, including his official accounts on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
2025 Season Performance
Corey LaJoie’s 2025 campaign has been split between three roles: part-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series with Rick Ware Racing, part-time driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Spire Motorsports and Kaulig Racing, and analyst for NASCAR on Prime Video. The year began with a high-energy Daytona 500, where he raced his way into the field through the Duels, started 12th, led laps late, and was in podium contention before a last-lap multi-car wreck ended his run.
Midseason, he returned to the Truck Series for Spire, scoring a fifth-place finish at Michigan in the No. 07 before shifting to the No. 77 at Richmond, where he again finished fifth. Behind the wheel, the Spire and Kaulig programs have provided competitive superspeedway and intermediate-track equipment, though playoff contention has not been in play. In the broadcast booth, he has joined Danielle Trotta as part of Prime Video’s Cup Series coverage, giving him a rare double presence as both driver and analyst.
Looking ahead, LaJoie remains under the Rick Ware Racing banner for selected Cup races while continuing his Truck Series slate with Spire, with momentum building around the Stacking Pennies Performance brand he launched in 2025. With consistent top-fives in the Truck Series, expanded analyst duties, and a packed schedule of marquee Cup starts, his 2025 season reflects a versatile driver transitioning smoothly into a media-and-racing hybrid role.
