LaJoie gambled his own money to secure a coveted Daytona 500 ride

Corey LaJoie’s NASCAR profession appeared to be reaching a conclusion on the finish of the 2024 season when he was booted from his full-time trip at Spire mid-year earlier than operating the remaining races with Rick Ware Racing. There was no promise of a deal for 2025 or past.

On Thursday, although, the third-generation racer earned a spot to make his ninth consecutive look within the Daytona 500. And getting there was removed from simple. Inserting his belief in destiny, LaJoie made one of many greatest gambles of his life. He knew the second RWR entry was with out a driver for NASCAR’s greatest race and whoever put up the cash first can be the one to get the seat. So, he fronted his personal cash, joking it was from his child’s faculty fund, to “be sure that no one else received the automotive as a result of I do know this automotive is among the extra fascinating [open cars] to drive,” and commenced preparations in hope to qualify for his big-bet occasion.

All for an opportunity

It was a nervous time for LaJoie with no assured spot within the race and no sponsor a month out from the occasion. “I used to be most likely dumb sufficient to let my chips trip on the desk and attempt to make this race alone dime,” continued LaJoie. “However fortunately for me, (sponsors) DuraMAX and Take 5 got here in on the final minute and took me off the hook.

Corey LaJoie, Rick Ware Racing Ford

Picture by: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Pictures

“I felt just like the final 4 months of my life basically with some doorways shutting that I used to be praying to get shut and doorways opening that I used to be praying to get opened,” defined LaJoie. “A number of the ones that I did not anticipate getting opened. I felt just like the Lord has been in each step. [I] was at peace with letting that sum of money go as a little bit of a religion tester,” stated LaJoie. “It was like each day for weeks, and it received all the way down to the eleventh hour, proper, and He delivered that sponsor. I do not assume it is coincidence. I believe that that partnership was meant to be.”

His greatest struggle, although, was nonetheless forward of him by racing his approach into the five hundred, unlikely to have the ability to fall again on his qualifying time the place he was the fourth-fastest of the 9 open vehicles. LaJoie ran an ideal race throughout Duel 2 and crossed the road, unchallenged in sixth, which means he’ll begin twelfth on this Sunday’s Daytona 500. All the pieces after that could be a bonus now, and LaJoie even hinted at extra potential begins at tracks comparable to Atlanta and Bristol.

“I am undecided what the long run holds fairly but, however I am excited that the primary field we got down to examine was coming down right here and making the Nice American Race, and that is what we did,” added LaJoie.

The veteran racer completed fourth in final yr’s Daytona 500 and what a narrative it will be if after 272 Cup races with out a win, he earned his first in race the place it took blind religion and the gamble of a lifetime simply to be a part of the present.

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