It was a scary end to a frustrating day for Corey LaJoie and the No. 7 Gainbridge Spire Motorsports team Sunday at Circuit of the Americas, as LaJoie went to the ground after climbing from his car at the end of the 68-lap contest around the 3.410-mile road course in Austin, Texas.
LaJoie spent a considerable amount of time on the ground following the race, which prompted a medical team to assist the driver. After LaJoie was able to get back to his feet, the driver made a trip to the at-track care center, where he was evaluated and released.
Thankfully, LaJoie was okay.
After he left the care center, LaJoie explained what happened to him that caused him to go to the ground at the end of the race at COTA.
Corey LaJoie was able to smile a little bit after exiting the infield medical center. He said his body cramped up after the race so that is why he was on the ground after the race. pic.twitter.com/34gb8ejuhn
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 24, 2024
“Every muscle in my body cramped up,” LaJoie told FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass after his trip to the care center. “I was fine in the car, I had a little bit of foot cramp, but then as soon as I tucked my chin to get up out of my car, every muscle from the top of my abs to the bottom of my feet just seized up. I tried to walk it off, but my feet wouldn’t work, my legs wouldn’t work, so I had to lay down.”
LaJoie said that he received two bags of IV fluids in the care center after the race.
Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix began with such optimism for LaJoie, who finished 11th in this event a year ago. The driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet scored his career-best starting spot on Saturday, a fifth-place qualifying effort, and there were hopes that he could contend for his first top-10 finish on a road course.
However, it all came undone on Lap 1 for LaJoie, who slid out of line, and as he attempted to rejoin the field, made contact with Martin Truex Jr., which then sent him skidding into Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota Camry.
The contact with Truex was hard enough to break the right front wheel on Truex’s car, and the damage sustained in the incident also led Bubba Wallace to take his car to pit road for repairs.
LaJoie never seriously contended for a top spot for the remainder of the day.
“It was a combination of frustration today, where we threw away the track position early getting in that little scuff up,” LaJoie explained. “And I was just uber frustrated the rest of the day. Just couldn’t quite get it back.”
While it was a frustrating afternoon, LaJoie was able to salvage a 24th-place finish as he picked off a few positions in the final few laps of the race. The event had only two cautions, which were the two planned Stage yellows. The final Stage ran green for the entirety of the Stage, which led to a lot of drivers being physically spent at the end of the race.
Mike Joy said several drivers had to catch their breath after the race, including LaJoie’s Spire Motorsports teammate Carson Hocevar.
Fortunately, everyone seems to be okay following the race, which was won by William Byron.
