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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

The 2023 season was not a memorable one for Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie. The 32-year-old hopes to see a lot of improvement in 2024 and the team has taken steps towards that. However, LaJoie recently revealed that he is still skeptical ahead of the new campaign. In a recent interview with SiriusXM Radio, LaJoie expressed his concerns with just a few weeks left before the start of the new season.

Last year, the 32-year-old achieved his career-best finish in the Cup Series but that was 25th. He has been with Spire Motorsports since 2021, but things have yet to work out that well so far. There were a few positives last season, however. LaJoie earned 2 top-five finishes in Atlanta and Talladega.

Spire Motorsports has brought in some big names ahead of the new season

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Spire Motorsports is not one of the winning teams in the Cup Series right now, but as far as Corey LaJoie is concerned, they have taken the right steps ahead of the 2024 season. There are several new hires in the team, most of whom have worked in engineering roles at teams like Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske. Though the driver is skeptical, the new hires have instilled a lot of hope in the 32-year-old.

“I’m a realist and I’m skeptical about everything we’re trying to do with the team because I’ve seen it from the ground floor. I have seen every hire, every fire, and every bit of information we’ve acquired and I know the information we don’t have,”  LaJoie said as per Sportsnaut.

Some of the new hires at Spire are eminent names like Stephen Doran and Luke Lambert. Both have a ton of experience in NASCAR and they will certainly be an asset to the team, which was acknowledged by the driver of the #7 car.

“I haven’t been to the shop much but every time I’ve gone there this winter, I see a new hire from Stewart-Haas, a new hire from Penske and not guys who were washing parts, but engineers and the guys who are setting underwings. I’m like ‘Oh my goodness, we’re starting to look like a real race team’. Especially at the test in December, we had Stephen Doran, who is crew chiefing with Zane and an engineer with Hendrick, plus Luke Lambert with Carson,” he added.

However, it is one thing to hire a bunch of people with impressive resumes and it’s another thing to get them to work together successfully. That is where Corey LaJoie has a few qualms. It is not that the driver of the #7 does not believe in his team, but the amount of effort that will be needed to improve after a disappointing 2023 will not be good for his work-life balance.

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Corey LaJoie is not excited about the 2024 Cup Series campaign

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Ahead of a new season, almost every single driver will say that they’re excited about the start of the new campaign. But not Corey LaJoie. He is a believer in the opposite. For a team like Spire Motorsports to improve and be more successful, it will take quite a lot out of everyone involved in the team, including LaJoie himself. While the 32-year-old understands that success won’t come without that level of effort, he isn’t looking forward to it.

“The drinking word this time is ‘excited’ and excited to get back to work or excited for this partner. I’m actually on the other side. I’m not excited because I know the work it takes and how it consumes every minute of your thoughts and energy. It does create that work-life imbalance you’re trying to get back in the off-season. It’s non-existent if you want to compete at the highest level. I’m not excited about that. I’m willing to do everything it takes but I’m not excited … and this is a two-folded answer … but anyone who has done it will tell you the grind is real,” the driver of the #7 added.

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Being a race car driver is one of the toughest jobs in the world. There might be a lot of glitz and glamour, but the work that goes on behind the scenes is unlike anything else. It will be interesting to see how Spire Motorsports and Corey LaJoie perform this year with all these new hires.

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