Kenny Wallace Claims Corey LaJoie Made “Matters Worse” With Hendrick Motorsports Move Amid Carson Hocevar’s Limelight

It was 2020 when Corey LaJoie of Spire Motorsports wrote a letter to the Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, showing his interest to be used as a replacement for the soon-to-be retiring Jimmie Johnson. But the proposal did not fall into action. 

Nonetheless, three years later, with Chase Elliott being sidelined for one race, the opportunity of a lifetime landed on the laps of the Spire Motorsports driver, as he was called in as a substitute driver for the #9 Chevrolet. It was not only a dream come true that came straight out of the fairy tale for LaJoie. He rediscovered and made a return to his roots as his father also drove the #9 for Hendrick Motorsports.

Despite all the hype, expectations, and predictions, things did not act in LaJoie’s favor. He failed to capitalize on the situation to bring favorable results to his side. And Kenny Wallace could not be any less brutal in stating the facts that the Sunday’s race results saw LaJoie dug his own grave.

Kenny Wallace expresses his disappointment with Corey LaJoie’s failure at the Gateway race on Sunday

In an interview series with the Athletic, whether Corey LaJoie would seize a win or not, Chase Briscoe had opined, “That seems like a tall order. It’s not impossible, but also not likely. If LaJoie pulled that off, it would go down as one of the all-time NASCAR stories and get talked about in the same way as Jamie McMurray winning in Sterling Marlin’s car back in 2002.”

It may not have been an impossible feat, given it’s the #9, the most coveted seat of the Cup Series. But the odds were not in favor of this substitute driver, as he failed to make the most out of the resources that were provided to him and finished 21st in the race. While LaJoie’s substitute, the Xfinity driver Carson Hocevar, drove a good race before his brake rotor gave up.

This is what Kenny Wallace in his YouTube channel became critical of. While speaking on the results of the Gateway race, he blatantly expressed, “Corey’s crew chief missed the setup, at the start of the race. At first, I’m giving Corey LaJoie a break and I feel bad for Corey because they are here and realize the stream and I know it’s not going to be easy.”

He added, “I saw him and say, Corey, here’s my advice. Do you like what Dick Trickle taught me? Stay Corey, and let the car do the talking. Well, it turned out not good and to make matters worse, Corey gets out of his car which is the No. 7, and puts this new phenomenon, Carson Hocevar.”

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Speaking about Carson Hocevar, the veteran driver expressed, “He is young and skinny as a bean but he’s done it all, we know he’s good. We know Carson Hocevar is good and is coming. He gets in that old junkie 7 car. I know I’m acting silly, that 7 car is not junkie it’s a good car, but it’s with a team that does not have a lot of money.”

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The veteran driver sees the potential in Hocevar as a future Cup Series driver

While drawing a comparison between the two drivers, Wallace shared his thoughts on the fact, “He rockets all the way up, he’s running 16. So, here’s Corey’s car running 16 and Corey is back there in 28. Well, Carson breaks a brake rotor and smashes into the wall, but the damage is already done.”

Opportunities like LaJoie’s are surely a rarity, which once gone are gone forever. And Corey LaJoie failed to seize his opportunity. Kenny Wallace couldn’t be more displeased about the fact.

He added, “They say, in big-time sports, you get one chance, and in my day, I probably got three chances. But what inevitably saved me was every time I got in a good car, I was very lucky. I hauled a**. Steve Park got hurt. I set quick time at Rockingham, finished second at the big race, and saved my career. When Ernie Irving gets hurt, I haul a** at Martinsville, I run fifth, and I run 10th at the Southern 500.”

The facts that Kenny Wallace put up are really worth considering for drivers like LaJoie and Hocevar. It surely doesn’t assert the fact that the driver is not deserving of another chance, but the scenarios are changing. Or as the veteran driver puts it, “So, don’t judge your worth over one race. Nowadays, they mean you only get one chance.”

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