“This chapter ends after Phoenix, and I’m excited to see what the Lord has in store for my family next.” These were the parting words of Corey LaJoie, who has exited Spire Motorsports. The number 7 seat of the team now remains vacant and LaJoie’s 2025 plans in the Cup series remain uncertain.

In his recent conversation with Ryan Flores in the Stacking Pennies podcast, he talked about his journey at Spire Motorsports and the possibility of moving to a lower series. In the interview, he also made a strong statement about how young, rich racers can just buy their way into the sport.

The reason for Corey and Spire Motorsports parting ways is the #7’s below-average performance in the Cup Series. The same was reiterated in their statement, “In racing, there are always variables, but one thing we all know is this is a performance-based business, and it just hasn’t been there for several reasons. All those reasons are factored in when it comes to making a decision of this magnitude.”

LaJoie joined Spire Motorsports in 2021, accumulating 129 race starts with the team since then. Not just this, but his three career-best fourth-place finishes all came with Spire at different tracks. Still, he has been winless in his Cup Series and brief Truck Series career so far.

And the winless streak has continued into 2024 as he is currently 28th in points and has one top-10, and one top-five finish. His playoff dreams currently seem distant. The next four races will be crucial for him and his career going forward. A win will put him in the radars of teams. For now, his career hangs in the balance.

On the Stacking Pennies podcast, Ryan Flores asked Corey LaJoie about a move to get into one of the lower series. However, he did not seem very confident about that either. But instead emphasized that anyone with money can just buy a vacant seat in NASCAR. He said, ” No. There are a lot of things outside my control there. I’m telling you that there are between 18- and 23-year-olds. There are 10 people that have more than $3 million to go buy a seat anywhere. The only ones, the rides that are valuable are gonna get bought, by guys with money. Whether it’s a Cup car, whether it’s a Truck or whether it is Xfinity.” 

While we discuss a demotion being an option for LaJoie, teams from Xfinity and Truck aren’t knocking on his doors. As he himself said, “There is not an Xfinity program that somebody’s going to call anybody up to drive for nothing and get paid to drive.” For this again, his stats are to be blamed. In his entire career, he’s only got 4 top 5 finishes and 9 top 10 finishes in All NASCAR series.

And according to him the reason for his poor stats is a lack of opportunity. LaJoie mentioned, “If you boil it down and I haven’t driven for, at the time a top 30 team in points in the truck series in the Xfinity series or the Cup series right in my NASCAR national career.”

How did Corey LaJoie help build Spire Motorsports?

During his time with Spire Motorsports, the 32-year-old has been instrumental in the team’s growth and achievements. Over 129 Cup starts, he has earned four top-five finishes and six top-10s. His contributions extend beyond the track, playing a crucial role in shaping the team’s identity and bolstering its presence in the highly competitive racing world.

LaJoie spoke candidly and reflected on his time with the team, acknowledging both the challenges and successes he experienced. He expressed a mix of pride and frustration over the period, “I take a lot of satisfaction from having an integral part of building Spire into a respectable team on the grid, but unfortunately the future won’t involve me. We will finish the remainder of 2024 strong, continuing to deliver for my partners, my guys who work hard to build good cars, family, fans & friends who have supported me since day one in the Cup Series.”

When he joined the team, they had nothing, not even a 9-16 wrench! He said, “When we were in the conference room at Spire Motorsports with Jeff Dickerson, TJ Puchyr, Emma Setzer, Bill Anthony, me, and Bray. That was it. That was the start of Spire Motorsports. And it went exactly how we thought it was going to go. We were gonna have some hard days. We start the next-gen car. We had no clue how to make a car, go in circles.” 

With this future for LaJoie remains uncertain, but his immediate focus should be on securing a win in his next four races. Achieving this would be crucial in shaping the trajectory of his career. The racing world will be watching closely to see if he can overcome these challenges and make a significant comeback.