Corey LaJoie was to be replaced in the No. 7 Car after the Bristol Night Race. The driver to take his place will be Justin Haley, with whom he will be swapping cars and teams for the next season. The idea was proposed by RWR, as they pitched a driver swap till the end of the season.

LaJoie had a saddening DNF at his last race with Spire Motorsport; however, there is a silver lining for a new team ready to have him in 2025. RWR will be bringing LaJoie to their team, leaving a seat in Spire Motorsports for Justin Haley to keep. Recently, the owner and crew chief of Spire Motorsports sat down to discuss their future plans, and here is the takeaway from their discussion.

How Spire Motorsports made up their mind for a driver in their No. 7 car

Although Justin Haley is still to prove that he is the right fit for Spire Motorsports, the stakeholders will know for sure after his performance at Kansas. The two teams are pulling off a switcheroo where RWR is exchanging Haley for LaJoie at the remaining races, so the drivers get acquainted with their new teams.

While discussing things on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Rodney Childres, the crew chief of Spire Motorsports, and Jeff Dickerson, the owner, discussed their potential driver for 2025. On the podcast, Jeff Dickerson said, “You know, after we had, you know, after we had kind of made the difficult decision around Corey, I wasn’t fashionable about trying to figure out who was going to drive this thing and how.”

Dickerson then explained how he went to Rodney Childres to ask his opinion, and he asked the crew chief, “Hey, is there anybody you know that’s catching your eye?” The Spire Motorsports owner revealed that he asked Childres because he “didn’t get the impression that he was fully agreeing with me.” When he asked Childres what he thought, the crew chief replied, “If you hadn’t said it first, I probably would have.”

Ultimately they went with the idea that the crew chief reinforced, and Dickerson explained, “When we went to Justin, it was the dedicated concept of him working with Rodney.” So starting next weekend, we will see the drivers exchange places to see how they do in their new cars.

Corey LaJoie’s bitter exit from Spire Motorsports

Although the idea of the swap is exciting, LaJoie would like to have a better last race with Spire Motorsports. Bristol turned out to be a disaster. A crash with Josh Berry ended his race early, and the crash marked an unfortunate end to LaJoie’s four-year journey with Spire Motorsports.

Just a day before the race, it was revealed that LaJoie would be switching rides with Rick Ware Racing’s Justin Haley for the final seven races of 2024. Haley is set to take over the No. 7 car starting in 2025 and Corey LaJoie the No. 51.

In a farewell statement, the Spire Motorsports owner said, “Corey LaJoie has been a cornerstone of Spire Motorsports, and we’re incredibly appreciative of all the time, effort, and energy he has invested in our program.”

Both teams wish each other luck, as this only strengthens their bonds as friends when they are not fierce rivals on the track. What are your thoughts on the driver swap between the two teams? Share your thoughts in the comments below.