The No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevy has wrecked again, this time at Homestead Miami Speedway in the crucial Round of 8 playoff race. Corey LaJoie has been credited for the freak accident and frequent crashes throughout the 2024 season. But surprisingly, this time around he wasn’t the one who spun the #7 race car around; it was Justin Haley.

A mid-season swap between Rick Ware Racing and Spire saw Haley take command of the #7 car for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. However, in his fifth race with the team, he nearly wiped out the entire field in the very first lap of the race. Coming off Turns 3 and 4, Justin Haley tried to thread the needle jumping from the high lane to the middle, but he completely missed his markers.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the one holding out the middle lane, and he wasn’t going to lift off to allow Haley to make a move on him in a tight spot. But before Haley could clear the #47 and make a pass, he lost his grip on his tires and spun down the racetrack’s infield section. And it almost looked like the big one was about to happen on the very first lap of the race. But fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.

Chase Elliott, who is among the playoff drivers, narrowly missed making contact with the #7 car. The traffic behind him followed his lead and was able to make it through cleanly. Usually, Corey LaJoie is the one who faces the brunt from the fans for causing the ruckus, but it looks like the #7 car has problems of its own.

Highlighting the same sentiment, fans on social media backed Corey LaJoie with their responses and immediate reactions.

Corey LaJoie finally has some respite

LaJoie has caused a lot of trouble this season, especially for the playoff drivers. In a similar setting, the #7 car on the very first lap of the race at Watkins Glen sparked a big one. Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney’s run was affected massively due to the early crash. It looked like LaJoie just couldn’t keep his nose clean all this time, but he wasn’t the one driving the #7 car at Homestead. “I’m telling y’all. It’s the 7 car that makes you a weapon. Wasn’t Lajoie’s fault.”

The #8 car is a flagship car for the Spire Motorsports team. The team has locked Gaibridge as the primary sponsor for the team for the 2025 season and has also roped in veteran crew chief Rodney Childers to lead the team. However, if we are to go by the current trends, Spire might need to reconsider its choice, as according to this fan, the #7 car is cursed. “7 car is cursed.”

Since the swap deal, Corey Lajoie is driving the #51 Ford Mustang under the Rick Ware Racing banner. And while the fans were eager to pin the blame on the usual suspect, they were shocked to see the name of Justin Haley on the #7 Spire car that caused the wreck early in the race. “Are you sure Lajoie didn’t get in the wrong car.”

Ever since taking over the No. 7 Spire car, Haley has had a hard time trying to fit into the new car. In his last four starts, he’s managed a single top-10 run, and it’s clear a switch from Ford to Chevy is overwhelming for him now. But, seeing the race car go sideways and cause wrecks, a few fans are worried about the driver. “Maybe it wasn’t Lajoie. It was just the number 7.”

Again, there were even more surprises as this race fan was ready to pin the blame on Corey LaJoie for his usual shenanigans. But he had no hand in the #7 spinning off the track at Homestead Speedway. “Are we sure that’s still not Lajoie in the 7?”

Does Spire Motorsports need to work on the #7 car, or was it Haley’s fault that he put himself in a bad spot? What is your take?