NASCAR: The fan-favorite drink powering Corey LaJoie to a possible 'huge upset'

CELSIUS has been around NASCAR at multiple levels, including the Cup Series, over the last several years, partnering with a number of drivers and teams along the way.

The energy drink, which features healthy-energy formulas clinically proven to deliver significant health benefits to dedicated consumers and race car drivers, currently has a multi-race primary sponsorship deal in place with Spire Motorsports' Corey LaJoie for the 2024 season.

LaJoie's No. 7 Chevrolet is set to be sponsored by the brand in this coming Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

He spoke to Beyond the Flag about how the partnership came about and how CELSIUS has helped him get to where he is in his NASCAR career.

"I think the CELSIUS relationship was just like the story of being the squeaky wheel that gets the oil, because CELSIUS had dabbled in some different teams without a really consistent Cup Series driver to promote the brand," LaJoie explained.

"After kind of meeting up with Bryan Alesiano and John Fieldy, just wearing those guys out, man – I'll do the brand well, I can put cans in hands, and just be the example on a Sunday afternoon in the Cup Series of what living fit is. It's been a great relationship.

"They've certainly been instrumental in my rise in my career over the last several years and they've been part of my charity event, the Kickball Classic. They're the presenting sponsor of that too. So we've had a lot of fun with it, and hopefully we can continue to grow in that relationship for years to come."

LaJoie was familiar with the brand before partnering with CELSIUS, which helped his case to become an official ambassador.

"Pretty familiar because I'm not much of a soda guy – I’m not a soda guy at all," he admitted. "I'm not really much of an energy drink guy, but I would go to, I forgot whose hauler it was, maybe B.J. McLeod’s.

"He would have a little CELSIUS cooler outside the back of his hauler, and every Sunday I'd go grab one, just get a little bump of 200 milligrams of caffeine to get me going, and CELSIUS was the only energy drink that I had any interest in drinking, just because the vitamins B and C and no sugar. All that sort of stuff kind of fits into how I try to eat and how I try to live."

He doesn't drink it every day, but he uses it regularly, particularly as a part of his training routine.

"Not every day, but more days than not," LaJoie continued. "I don't use it every day, but at least five days a week I'm drinking it. I'm drinking a can right now, naturally, drinking a can of Grape Rush. This one has actually moved its way, under the radar, to the top of my flavor list too, because I was an Oasis Vibe guy, but the freaking Grape Rushes, dude, are sneaky good.

"But yeah, at least every Sunday I'm drinking one for sure, and then about every 2:00 when I need a little pick-me-up. They sent me a nice standup fridge too, stock full. I snag one out of there and keep it moving."

There are dozens of CELSIUS flavors, with more being added to the lineup regularly. LaJoie hasn't had a chance to try them all, but he is getting there, and he has already comprised a list of his current top three.

"There are so many flavors," he said. "I'm more keen on the sparkling ones as opposed to the flats. I've tried a majority of them. I would say my top three are the Grape Rush, Strawberry Lemonade, and the Oasis Vibe, it's like prickly pear."

He is looking forward to representing the brand this weekend at Daytona, where five of his career top 10 finishes, including a career-best-tying fourth place finish in this year's season-opening Daytona 500, have come.

A win would be the first of his career and lock him into the 16-driver playoff field for the first time.

"This weekend at Daytona they're on the hot rod," he concluded. "Hopefully we can get them in Victory Lane. That'd be a huge upset, and it would certainly punch our ticket to the playoffs as well, so it'd be huge, and it would be a hell of a party."

NBC is set to broadcast the Coke Zero Sugar 400 live from Daytona International Speedway starting at 7:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, August 24. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action!