A significant milestone is in the making for Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 32 Go Fas Racing Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Cup Series Playoff race at Kansas Speedway, LaJoie will reach 150 starts across NASCAR’s top three major division series.
A native of Kannapolis, North Carolina, and the son of two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Randy LaJoie, Corey’s first appearance within NASCAR’s three major division series was the 2013 Xfinity Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. By then, he was a development competitor for Richard Petty Motorsports and he had won six career races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and three in the ARCA Racing Series. Driving the No. 9 Ford Mustang for RPM, LaJoie finished 34th in his debut after being involved in an early accident.
LaJoie’s racing schedule in 2014 expanded, as he made his first two starts in the NASCAR Truck Series with RBR Enterprises and five starts in the Xfinity Series with Biagi-DenBeste Racing. His best result in the Truck Series was 10th at Bristol Motor Speedway in August and his best result in the Xfinity Series was 16th at Kentucky Speedway in June. He also made his first two career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series with Randy Humphrey Racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September and at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October.
Following a one-year absence from NASCAR, LaJoie returned in 2016 and competed in 10 Xfinity Series races with JGL Racing. His best results during his 10-race slate were a 10th-place result at Bristol in August and a sixth-place result at Dover International Speedway in October.
The following season, LaJoie joined forces with BK Racing as a part-time Cup Series competitor. During the first Can-Am Duel race at Daytona International Speedway in February, LaJoie rallied from being involved in a controversial wreck with Reed Sorenson, whom LaJoie wrecked in the closing laps, to finish 16th and earn a transfer spot in the Daytona 500 a few days later. LaJoie went on to finish 24th in his first Daytona 500 appearance.
Throughout the 2017 season, LaJoie competed in 32 of 36 Cup races while earning a best result of 11th place at Daytona in July and an average result of 30.2. He also competed in six Xfinity races with JGL Racing and earned a best result of 15th place (twice).
In 2018, LaJoie joined TriStar Motorsports as a part-time Cup competitor. He competed in 23 of 36 races with the team, earning a best result of 16th place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September and an average result of 31.5.
After TriStar Motorsports ceased operations following the 2018 season, LaJoie teamed up with Go Fas Racing to drive the No. 32 Ford Mustang for the 2019 Cup season. LaJoie started the season by finishing in 18th place in the Daytona 500. Through the first 10 races of the season, his highest result on the track was 11th place at Talladega Superspeedway in April. He went on to achieve his first pair of top-10 results in the Cup circuit at Daytona in July (sixth place) and at Talladega in October (seventh place). He concluded the season in 29th place in the final standings along with seven top-20 results and an average result of 25.9. Following the 2019 season, LaJoie surpassed 100 starts between NASCAR’s three major division series.
LaJoie remained with Go Fas Racing for the 2020 Cup season. He started this season on a harrowing note when he rammed into the upside down car of Ryan Newman on the driver’s side approaching the finish line. The impact demolished the front nose of LaJoie’s No. 32 RagingBull.com Ford Mustang, though he was able to finish in eighth place and emerge uninjured. He went on to finish in 16th place the following week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Through 32 of 36 races this season, LaJoie’s eighth-place result in the Daytona 500 marks his lone top-10 result, though he has achieved a total of six top-20 results. He is in 30th place in the standings and is coming off a 27th-place result in last weekend’s Cup race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
LaJoie is set to become a free agent after announcing in August that he will not be remaining with Go Fas Racing for the 2021 season, though he has yet to announce next year’s racing plans.
Catch LaJoie’s milestone start at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, October 18, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
The guy clearly deserves a good ride. Hendrick would be great. Maybe RPM. He’s to good to be sitting home.