On Monday, The Atlantic‘s Jordan Bianchi reported that Corey LaJoie is finalizing a multi-year extension to remain with Spire Motorsports. In the midst of a career best season, LaJoie’s name was beginning to rumble in silly season rumors. While the best available ride went to Josh Berry, LaJoie’s name has been kicked around for multiple other potential rides. Whether it was SHR’s 10 car or a potential third entry for Trackhouse, LaJoie’s name has been mentioned as a potential driver. Now, it appears that LaJoie will be returning to Spire Motorsports.
Corey LaJoie joined Spire Motorsports back in 2021. At the time, Spire Motorsports was firmly a back marker team. Despite winning the 2019 Coke Zero 400, Spire Motorsports was battling to stay out of the bottom three of owner points. The LaJoie pairing made sense, as LaJoie had been running for fellow back marker team Go Fas Racing. When the move was announced, the thought for many fans would be a mutually beneficial relationship where driver and team developed into more than a moving chicane on the track.
The first two seasons with Spire Motorsports saw minimal highlights for Corey LaJoie. Outside of leading late on superspeedways, there was little difference from LaJoie’s time with Go Fas. LaJoie’s average finishing position steadily dropped from 25.9 in 2019 to 24.3 in 2022. Steady improvement for team and driver but a bit slower than LaJoie fans would have hoped for. Now in 2023, Corey LaJoie and the 7 team have taken a massive step forward. The average finishing position is within the Top-20, sitting at 19.7 currently. His lone Top-5 came at spring Atlanta, a track where he has found the best runs. Perhaps the best statistic for LaJoie is his 12 Top-20s through 19 races, only three shy of his 2022 total.
Choosing Spire Over Mystery Options
While it not surprising to see Corey LaJoie return to Spire Motorsports, there were rumblings that LaJoie might look elsewhere. His career season has not gone unnoticed. After Chase Elliott’s suspension, Hendrick Motorsports tabbed LaJoie to drive the 9 car for WWT Raceway. Despite the poor showing in the 9, LaJoie’s selection created a buzz around the driver. No Hendrick ride is opening up anytime soon, but there were other intriguing options around for LaJoie.
The 4 car had long been rumored to Josh Berry prior to the official announcement. However, SHR might have a second car becoming available this silly season. Aric Almirola’s future is still in question for the 2024 season. There had also been rumors about Trackhouse starting a third fulltime team. In those rumors, LaJoie was allegedly the leading candidate for the job. 23XI Racing have seen the same type of rumors for a third team. If there is any credibility to the rumblings, LaJoie would have likely been a candidate for that car as well. Woods Brothers and Kaulig Racing round out the other potential teams (that would be an upgrade) who possibly could look for a new driver.
While there are other options, Corey LaJoie has decided to stick with Spire Motorsports. The move makes the most sense for the driver. Although there is nothing concrete to support this, the relationship between driver and team seems more than a contractual one. It feels that LaJoie has a leadership role with the team to help them grow. If this is the case, LaJoie would not have found that with a different team.
Continue Steady Progression
With Corey LaJoie returning to Spire Motorsports, the consistency of driver should be a boost for the team. 2023 has been a landmark season for the 7 team. While his chance of pointing his way into the playoffs have severely faded, LaJoie being in the conversation is huge progress. Last year, LaJoie was fighting to remain in the Top-30 of points. Now, LaJoie sits ahead of three SHR drivers, both Legacy Motor Club drivers, and a RCR driver. Barring a catastrophic plummet, the 2023 season can be considered nothing less than a spectacular success.
Moving forward with LaJoie behind the wheel, Spire Motorsports has a car that is slowly creeping into weekly expectations of a Top-20. The next step would be to see LaJoie start collecting some Top-10s. Nobody would expect race winning speed from the 7 car next year (outside of Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta). However, if the progression continues at the current pace, LaJoie might find himself battling for Top-15s every week next year. It would not be surprising to see LaJoie collecting between five to ten Top-10s. Now, this depends on how much Spire Motorsports put into R&D and continuing to progress. Surely, LaJoie would not have returned to Spire Motorsports without some assurance of a plan to make that 7 car competitive within the course of his contract. How Spire goes about that is a question left to be answered.
Sell the 77 Charter
One way that Spire Motorsports could potentially help push the progression of the 7 car is giving up on the 77. Simply put, the 77 car is a distraction that can be eliminated. In the owners standings, the 77 is on pace to finish in the bottom three. While the 7 car is enjoying a surge, the 77 has an average finish of 28.5. This is not a knock against Ty Dillon, as he is performing as well as anyone who has driven the 77 in recent years. When considering average finishing position, the 77 consistently averages around 29.3 when not considering superspeedway tracks. Even with that boost, the best average finish is only 28.
With the 77 floundering so badly, why bother attempting to keep it rolling? Instead, Spire Motorsports should put all their efforts and funds behind LaJoie and the 7 car. That could only be a boost to the 7 team. If that car bumps up another 3-5 positions per race, that should help make up the lose of winnings from the 77. Plus, selling the charter would be an immediate profit of millions of dollars. Instead of having one mid-pack car and one back marker, Spire Motorsports could turn Corey LaJoie and the 7 car into a serious playoff threat in the next two years. Drop the dead weight of the 77 and go all in with LaJoie. If Spire can make that sort of commitment to LaJoie, then this contract extension will be beneficial for all parties involved.
