NASCAR: Can Corey LaJoie follow Matt DiBenedetto’s path?

Corey LaJoie has decided that it is time to move on from Go Fas Racing following the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. The last time a driver did that, it worked out for the best.

It wasn’t too long ago that the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season was winding down and the future of Go Fas Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto was up in the air.

The 29-year-old Grass Valley, California native had never had a competitive ride, and there were no guarantees that he would have any ride in 2019.

But instead of sticking around for what would have been a third season in a backmarker car at Go Fas Racing, the first team for which he ever competed in all 36 races in a single season, he made the decision to leave in the hopes of landing a better ride.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

• NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
• NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
• NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
• NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago
• NASCAR team adds third car, names driver for 2024 Daytona 500

After finishing in 32nd and 29th place in the championship standings in the 2017 season and 2018 season, respectively, his decision panned out.

But that new path didn’t come without its own adversity.

Leavine Family Racing formed a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing and switched from Chevrolet to Toyota ahead of the 2019 season, and they signed Matt DiBenedetto to drive the #95 Toyota.

The beginning of the 2019 season did not result in much improvement for the #95 team compared to previous years, but they really started to get things going in the middle of the season. DiBenedetto came only a few laps away from securing his first career victory and playoff berth at Bristol Motor Speedway.

However, as was expected when Bob Leavine’s team formed their technical alliance with Joe Gibbs’s team, DiBenedetto’s deal was not extended, as Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell was given his seat for 2020.

Once again, DiBenedetto was faced with uncertainty.

But once again, it panned out.

Paul Menard opted to retire after the 2019 season, and he specifically told Wood Brothers Racing that they needed to hire DiBenedetto to replace him behind the wheel of the #21 Ford.

That they did.

Now here we are in DiBenedetto’s first season driving for the Team Penske-affiliated one-car Ford team, and he earned a playoff berth and a chance to compete for a title for the first time in his career.

While he hasn’t yet won a race and has been eliminated from championship contention, he tied his career-best result of second place in the second race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

He then tied it again at the same track in the playoffs before tying it again at Talladega Superspeedway before NASCAR controversially penalized him after the race and demoted him to 21st place.

There is no guarantee that DiBenedetto will be back with Wood Brothers Racing next year, especially given their technical alliance with Team Penske and the fact that Team Penske Xfinity Series driver Austin Cindric, the son of team president Tim Cindric, has had a breakout year.

But it could happen, and even if it doesn’t, he has utilized these last two seasons to put himself in a position where he can no longer be ignored by top teams.

Now another driver is making a similar gamble to the one DiBenedetto made nearly two years ago.

Corey LaJoie is currently in his second season competing for Go Fas Racing after replacing DiBenedetto. The 29-year-old Concord, North Carolina native had never competed full-time in the Cup Series prior to landing this ride, and all of his part-time rides were with non-competitive teams.

He, too, has made the decision to move on after the 2020 season, and there is no guarantee that he will end up competing anywhere next year.

Will his gamble pay off like DiBenedetto’s has?

He made that decision in August. It is now early October.

There are certainly teams out there that could and should be looking at him. JTG Daugherty Racing could end up having a seat open after 2020, and LaJoie even penned a handwritten letter to Rick Hendrick expressing his interest in driving the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after Jimmie Johnson retires.

Additionally, Go Fas Racing are in their first season having a technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing, and Stewart-Haas Racing have two pending free agents in their four-car lineup. They haven’t kept the same quartet from one year to the next since between the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

With Bubba Wallace set to join the new team started by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, Richard Petty Motorsports have the #43 Chevrolet open as well.

There are possibilities out there that make LaJoie’s gamble look like it could pay off. But not all gambles turn out the way DiBenedetto’s has, and there is no guarantees that LaJoie’s will, even though he is in the exact same boat as DiBenedetto was two seasons ago.