On the final couple of restarts of the race, Corey LaJoie looked to be in a position to score his third top-20 finish in four NASCAR Cup Series races on the season. However, LaJoie’s hopes of a top-20 sank, as did his heart when he attempted to slow his car down and the pedal went straight to the floor.
That’s right, LaJoie spent the final six laps of Sunday’s Fan Shield 500 at Phoenix Raceway with no brakes. LaJoie confirmed the news on Twitter following the race:
Had no brake pedal the last 6 laps so I just had to limp around. https://t.co/srOHv9Q1Qh
— Corey LaJoie (@CoreyLaJoie) March 8, 2020
Luckily, LaJoie was able to skillfully limp his car to the finish without any severe issues and still took home a 27th-place finish.
Although, 27th isn’t sexy, it adds up to a 20.0 average finish for the No. 32 Go Fas Racing driver and team so far in 2020. This marks a dramatic five-position improvement from their performance after the fourth race of the 2019 season.
Additionally LaJoie sits 22nd in the overall championship standings, currently this season. That is another five-position gain over 2019 after the fourth race.
If LaJoie and his team can continue stacking pennies and salvaging would-be bad days into decent respectable finishes, who knows where they will be when they return to Phoenix Raceway for the season finale in November.
