NASCAR: 5 drivers who can shake up the playoff picture

Drivers who can shake up playoff picture: No. 5 – Corey LaJoie

It’s no secret that Spire Motorsports have had a rough go of it lately. Their two entries, the #7 Chevrolet of Corey LaJoie and the #77 Chevrolet with rotating drivers, have been involved in a series of on-track incidents over the past few weeks.

But for LaJoie, there is still potential for the season to turn around with a win and possible playoff berth. In the past few superspeedway races, he has seemed to find a way into the top 10.

He had a phenomenal run in the recent race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he led laps late, but he did not win after wrecking from second place on the final lap.

Unlike the rest of the drivers on this list, LaJoie can’t simply win his way into the playoffs. As it stands, LaJoie sits in 31st place in the point standings, 37 points behind Ty Dillon for 30th.

Not only will he need to win to earn a playoff berth, but he’ll also need to make up those points and pass Dillon for 30th to officially become playoff eligible.

Equally interesting, if LaJoie wins and doesn’t make the playoffs, he would still become the sixth first-time winner this season, and his win could prevent other drivers from winning their way into the playoffs and/or accumulating valuable playoff points for themselves.