NASCAR: 5 possible Stewart-Haas Racing drivers for 2021
By Asher Fair
Possible 2021 Stewart-Haas Racing drivers: Corey LaJoie
When it was rumored that Go Fas Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing could pursue a technical alliance for the 2020 season, it was believed that Corey LaJoie could be given the boot and the driving duties of the #32 Ford would be given to Cole Custer to give him a Cup Series opportunity while Stewart-Haas Racing retained their driver lineup from 2019 to 2020.
But that did not happen. The technical alliance was formed as expected, but LaJoie retained his ride, as Custer replaced Suarez at the four-car team.
Despite the fact that Go Fas Racing are one of the slower full-time teams in the field, LaJoie maintained that he wanted to be back there this year even before this technical alliance was formed, signaling that there could potentially be a bigger opportunity for him to come out of all of this.
LaJoie is the driver with arguably the most untapped talent in all of the Cup Series garage. He has driven for several of the sport’s backmarker teams throughout his entire career at NASCAR’s highest level, and he has consistently gotten the most out of the cars he has driven.
Last year particularly illustrated that. In his first year with the Archie St. Hilaire-owned team, LaJoie racked up seven top 20 finishes, including finishes of a career-high sixth place at Daytona International Speedway, seventh at Talladega Superspeedway, and perhaps most notably, 12th at the intermediate track of Charlotte Motor Speedway.
LaJoie seems poised for his best opportunity in 2021 one way or another, and he is banking on it, having already announced that he won’t be returning to Go Fas Racing next year. His name has also been mentioned as a potential candidate to replace retiring seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports.
If they don’t go with LaJoie, could Stewart-Haas Racing turn to a driver not already affiliated with the team like they did in each of the three years prior to hiring Custer?