The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has been nothing short of a nightmare for Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie. After 20 races so far this season, he is 31st in the points standings, and a spot in the playoffs looks like a far-fetched dream. With the team fielding two rookie drivers, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, LaJoie was expected to lead the charge, but he just hasn’t fired up.

The only good streak of results he had this season came in the first two races, where he finished 4th at Daytona and 13th at Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, since then, he just hasn’t been able to hit his markers, and he has now come out to take responsibility for this woeful run.

The remedy to salvage the rest of Corey LaJoie’s season

If we are to compare his results race by race to this point of the season from last year, he certainly has taken a step down. In 2023, he had ten top-20 finishes along with a top-5 result. Although he was far from competing for the wins, at least he had a consistent streak of results. So what’s gone wrong with the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team?

Well, according to the driver, he feels that he’s pushed the limit a bit too far, causing mistakes that have hampered their performances on the track. “I’ve made too many mistakes behind the wheel. Trying to a get little bit more than what I think the pace of our car is. We need to be able to go run top 15  more consistently and then it will turn into 10s and top 5s and that’s when you find yourself in contention.” LaJoie said this via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Although he did shed light on the burgeoning issue of being unable to compete with the rest of the field with a rather tame racing set-up for his car, “You know we’ve had the same, not a whole bunch of support in terms of resources sometimes. So substantial step-up was a little bit far-fetched, but you know I think we haven’t executed well, whether it’s me behind the wheel or a race where we generally have some pace and not overall run,” he added.

The good thing for LaJoie and his team is that the No. 7 team has already received a lot of reinforcement for the next season. While they might have to scavenge and scrap out the results this season, the next year looks bright for Spire Motorsports and Corey LaJoie.

Rodney Childers will lead the charge of the No. 7 Spire team in 2025

With Stewart Haas Racing closing down its NASCAR operation, the veteran crew chief was a free agent. He was linked to continue with his current driver at SHR, Josh Berry, but they both went their separate ways. Berry landed at Wood Brothers Racing, whereas Childers secured a multi-year deal with Spire Motorsports.

This addition isn’t going to make No. 7 a race-contending team overnight. But the 48-year-old certainly knows the ins and outs of the sport and guides his driver to success. He won the Cup Series championship with Kevin Harvick and has 40 race wins to his name. Thus making him the winningest active crew chief in the series.

Not to forget, Corey LaJoie will also have an experienced driver in Michael McDowell as his teammate next year. So there are positive changes that the driver can work with. However, he will have to navigate his way through this tough season and try to get back on track with consistent finishes, which would lead to that big result.