Corey LaJoie’s days in the #7 Spire Motorsports Chevy were indeed numbered. However, no one could’ve thought that he would end up at Rick Ware Racing in a mid-season trade. Justin Haley from RWR has signed as the new driver for Spire, whereas LaJoie will take command of the #51 Ford at Kansas Speedway. But there’s a catch, LaJoie’s future with Rick Ware Racing isn’t secured. He has seven races to prove his worth as a Cup Series-worthy driver.

From running a Hendrick Motorsports car in 2023 to now being unable to secure his ride for 2025, Corey LaJoie’s carrier has taken a hit for worse. However, this decision to run seven races as a tryout at RWR could go south, given that he had opportunities to run full-time in Xfinity and Trucks next year. So, why is LaJoie adamant about taking a huge risk rather than dropping down and grinding his way back up?

Corey LaJoie always wanted to be a Cup Series driver

Unlike most of the talents in the stock car racing scene, LaJoie was catapulted directly into the Cup Series action. He’s never competed full-time in Xfinity or the Truck Series, and it looks like the competitive edge of Cup racing has got to him. Now, he knew that he wasn’t going to retain his spot in the #7 car for 2025, and thus began the hunt for a new opportunity.

With Stewart Haas Racing’s departure, there has been a sort of ripple effect on the Cup garage. Teams had to be proactive in getting their business done and grab hold of the drivers they felt they needed. Therefore, Corey LaJoie was indeed late to the silly season party. Now he had the option to drop down to Xfinity or Truck level, but he chose to gamble his future with a seven-race trial run at RWR.

“I’ve had some opportunities in Xfinity and Trucks, but I told Robbie several weeks ago. All my chips are pushed onto the table to drive that 51’ because my entire guiding light, since I was eight years old was to be a Cup driver. It wasn’t to be a Truck Series driver or an Xfinity Series driver.” LaJoie said this during his unveiling as an RWR driver for the remainder of the 2024 season.

This was despite Denny Hamlin’s advice to LaJoie to try to get a feel for winning races and competing in lower series. “I think he should go back down a series or two and win. He was on a backmarker team, but, like, he got an opportunity to race on Sunday, so he took it.” Hamlin said it on the Actions Detrimental podcast.

Although Corey LaJoie has reservations about dropping down to Xfinity or Trucks, there have been a fair few examples of drivers doing that. Not only that, but they have also scripted comebacks and reclaimed their deserving spot in the Cup Series.

LaJoie could’ve gone the Cole Custer or John Hunter Nemechek route

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Success isn’t guaranteed at the Cup level, at least not for the drivers competing against the top dogs like HMS and JGR. There comes a phase in a driver’s career where they have to take a humbling call and regain their confidence. This is exactly what John Hunter Nemechek did after a dismal 2020 outing with Front Row Motorsports.

He dropped down to the Xfinity Series and joined Joe Gibbs Racing for 2023, and this is where he turned the corner for good. The JGR driver notched up seven wins and finished 4th in the overall standings after a strong playoff run. Now, his meteoric rise back to winning ways didn’t go unnoticed, as Jimmie Johnson and Co. signed him at Legacy Motor Club for the 2024 season.

Something similar happened with Cole Custer, who couldn’t get his feet sorted out at Stewart Haas Racing in a three-year stint from 2020-2022. Demands at SHR were just too much for the driver, and therefore he chose to take a step back and drop down to the Xfinity Series. He took command of the #00 Ford, and since then he’s never looked back. Custer won the 2023 Xfinity Series championship, and going by his current run, he might as well add another championship trophy to his name.

However, with SHR taking the exit door, Gene Haas started his new project, Haas Factory Team. And they didn’t have to look elsewhere to find abled hands to lead the new project. This is how Cole Custer also scripted his comeback to the Cup level. That’s not it. Harrison Burton, who recently bagged his first Cup win at Daytona with Wood Brothers Racing, will move to the Xfinity Series with AM Racing in 2025.

It’s not that Corey LaJoie has shot himself in the foot committing to RWR for seven races. But is he going to run any better in the #51, given that he’s struggled with the #7 team at Spire?