UPDATE: Spire Motorsports has confirmed the team will part ways with Corey LaJoie following the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
“Corey LaJoie has been a cornerstone of Spire Motorsports since 2021 and it would be impossible to overstate what he’s meant to this organization and how much I’ve agonized over this decision,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “Corey put his heart and soul into this team. He rolled up his sleeves and went to work before we had a race shop, a toolbox or even our own cars. Those days, looking back, were so much simpler than where we are in our journey now. Back then, we just wanted to get to the racetrack. Today, we’re consumed with consistently battling for top-10 finishes and contending for wins in the near future.
“In racing, there are always variables but one thing we all know, is this is a performance-based business, and it just hasn’t been there for several reasons. All those reasons are factored in when it comes to making a decision of this magnitude. With Ryan (Sparks) moving upstairs, and Rodney (Childers) coming in next season, the best thing for Spire Motorsports is a clean slate for the No. 7 car in 2025. Corey deserves a fresh look from another organization, too, and we’ll do everything we can to help him get another opportunity in the Cup garage. I believe in Corey and his ability to be successful in this sport and look forward to him using this as motivation to prove all his doubters wrong.”
The organization says it will announce the new driver of the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet in due course.
Corey LaJoie and Spire Motorsports will be parting ways following the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, bringing to an end a four-year relationship between the driver and team.
LaJoie confirmed his impending departure from the organization in a statement to The Athletic.
“I won’t be driving the 7 car next year,” LaJoie told The Athletic. “I take a lot of satisfaction from having an integral part of building Spire into a respectable team on the grid, but unfortunately the future won’t involve me. We will finish the remainder of 2024 strong, continuing to deliver for my partners, my guys who work hard to build good cars, my family, fans & friends who have supported me since day one in the Cup Series. This chapter ends after Phoenix and I’m excited to see what the Lord has in store for my family next.”
The 32-year-old driver has piloted the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro entry for Spire Motorsports since 2021, in which time the son of NASCAR Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie has amassed four top-five and six top-10 finishes.
In February, LaJoie matched his career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish of fourth in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, which to this point in the season remains his only top-five or top-10 finish.
LaJoie currently sits 28th in NASCAR Cup Series point standings after 22 events, working on the strength of four top-15 and eight top-20 finishes. His average finish of 22.7 is currently the second-best of his career, but two spots lower than it was last season (20.8).
Throughout much of his career, LaJoie has been labeled as a journeyman driver, starting his NASCAR Cup Series career with BK Racing in 2016. With solid results, the Charlotte, North Carolina native progressed to better teams like Tri-Star Motorsports, then GoFas Racing, and eventually Spire Motorsports, where he’s spent the last four years.
In August 2023, LaJoie and Spire Motorsports reached a multi-year contract extension, which was supposed to secure the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro a spot within the organization for years to come. Less than a year later, though, the two parties announced their impending separation.
Confirmation of the Spire-LaJoie divorce comes less than a month after the team hired championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers to lead the No. 7 team in 2025, a press release that mentioned LaJoie explicitly.
The somewhat unexpected change in driver lineup for Spire Motorsports leaves the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro as one of the most coveted openings on the silly season market, not only with the presence of Childers but also the continued overall improvement of the team.
This new driver, whose identity remains unknown as of the time of publishing, will be paired with Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell in 2025, both of whom are contracted with Spire Motorsports for next season.
One Response
Unfair! He got you here and doesn’t get a chance at new crew chief. You could have at least gave him the opportunity of a year at least. Typical, use you up and then dump you.