NASCAR Cup Series: 3 possible landing spots for Corey LaJoie in 2021
By Asher Fair
Corey LaJoie has not yet had an opportunity to compete for a top-tier team in the NASCAR Cup Series. Will that change in the 2021 season?
Corey LaJoie is widely considered to be one of the NASCAR Cup Series drivers with the most untapped potential in the garage, and his results driving for three of the sport’s underfunded teams in recent years back up that claim.
The 28-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina made his Cup Series debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway driving for Randy Humphrey Racing back in 2014. But after competing in that race and the race a few weeks later Charlotte Motor Speedway, he did not return to the series until 2017.
Corey, the son of two-time NASCAR Busch (modern-day Xfinity) Series champion Randy LaJoie, competed for BK Racing in the 2017 season on a part-time team that included 32 races, and he recorded a top finish of 11th place at Daytona International Speedway.
The following year, he competed in 23 races for TriStar Motorsports, finishing as high as 16th place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In 2019, he ended up replacing Matt DiBenedetto at Go Fas Racing after DiBenedetto made a gamble by giving up his ride with the team for a better opportunity that ultimately panned out.
LaJoie had a career year in what was his first full-time season in 2019, recording seven top 20 finishes, including the first two top 10 finishes of his career. He finished in a career-high sixth place at Daytona International Speedway and a seventh place result at Talladega Superspeedway later in the year.
While LaJoie is clearly content with where he is at right now having re-signed for 2020 after making it his goal to do so, anybody in his position would be eager to land a more competitive ride. He has even previously joked about landing a ride by “applying” to Joe Gibbs Racing.
Will he land a ride with a top-tier team in 2021? Here are three possible landing spots.