Corey LaJoie Bio
Corey Daniel LaJoie, born on September 25, 1991, in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an American professional stock car racing driver and a current NASCAR analyst. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 01 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Spire Motorsports. Beyond driving, LaJoie is also a racing analyst for NASCAR on Prime Video, working alongside Danielle Trotta. The son of two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie, he has built his own reputation in the sport through perseverance and a willingness to race in underdog equipment.
Early Life and Background
Corey Daniel LaJoie was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, a city deeply rooted in stock car racing culture and home to most NASCAR teams. Growing up in that environment gave him direct exposure to the racing industry from an early age. He is the son of Randy LaJoie, a respected veteran who captured the NASCAR Busch Series championship in both 1996 and 1997. That family connection placed young LaJoie around race shops and short tracks throughout his childhood and helped shape his career path.
LaJoie began his competitive racing career in 1996 at a young age, competing in kart racing events on both dirt and asphalt surfaces, where he collected 19 victories. In 2003, he advanced to the INEX Bandolero series, posting 12 wins and earning the Summer Shootout Championship. A year later, in 2005, he transitioned into Legends cars, and by 2006 he had moved into the Aaron’s Pro Challenge Series, winning 10 of 12 races that season. From 2007 through 2009, he competed in the UARA-Stars Late Model Touring Series, scoring one win and ten top-ten finishes in seventeen starts.
Path to NASCAR
LaJoie made his NASCAR Camping World East Series debut in 2009 at Thompson Speedway, beginning his climb through the official NASCAR ladder. In 2010, he picked up a win in the Atlanta 150, and by 2012 he had earned recognition as a member of the NASCAR Next class, a program designed to spotlight rising young drivers. That same year, he scored his first series victory in June at Bowman Gray Stadium, added four more wins, and finished second in the overall standings.
He expanded into the ARCA Racing Series in 2013, winning at Chicagoland Speedway in July and then backing it up with another victory at Pocono Raceway in August. In June 2013, he was signed by Richard Petty Motorsports as a development driver, and in November of that year he made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the No. 9 Ford. The following September, he made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with Randy Humphrey Racing, completing the transition to NASCAR’s national level.
Corey LaJoie Career
Early Career (2013-2016)
LaJoie’s early national touring career was defined by limited opportunities and a series of small team drives. After his 2013 Nationwide Series debut with Richard Petty Motorsports, he joined Biagi-DenBeste Racing in 2014 for a five-race schedule in the Nationwide Series, struggling with mechanical issues and crashes in most of those events. He stepped away from NASCAR competition for a period before returning in 2016, driving the No. 24 Toyota Camry for JGL Racing in the Xfinity Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Those years were a grind, but they gave him crucial seat time at stock car racing’s highest levels.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Breakthrough (2016-2018)
After returning in 2016, LaJoie continued to work his way through the Xfinity Series with underfunded teams, gradually building a reputation as a determined and aggressive driver. In 2018, he joined TriStar Motorsports for a part-time schedule, splitting the No. 72 entry with Cole Whitt. He showed flashes of speed in the Daytona 500 that year before an early engine failure, and he later ran inside the top ten in the Coca-Cola 600 before finishing 26th. When TriStar shut down at the end of 2018, LaJoie found himself searching for a new opportunity.
Go Fas Racing Era (2019-2020)
LaJoie joined Go Fas Racing’s No. 32 Ford in 2019, securing a more stable ride in the Cup Series. He scored two top-ten finishes that season, including a sixth at Daytona’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 and a seventh at Talladega’s 1000Bulbs.com 500. In 2020, he returned to the No. 32 on a one-year extension and finished eighth in the Daytona 500 after a frightening last-lap crash involving Ryan Newman’s airborne car. In August 2020, he announced he would part ways with Go Fas Racing at the end of the season.
Spire Motorsports Era (2021-2024)
In 2021, LaJoie moved to Spire Motorsports to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet on a multi-year deal, anchoring the young organization’s full-time Cup effort. On March 15, 2022, his crew chief Ryan Sparks was suspended four races for a tire and wheel loss at Phoenix, and shortly after, LaJoie led a career-best 19 laps at Atlanta before being overtaken by Chase Elliott late and finishing 21st. In 2023, he finished 25th in points, his highest career championship result, and was the only full-time driver to complete the season without a single DNF. In 2024, he picked up his first non-drafting-track top ten with a strong run at Darlington, but on July 25 he announced he would leave Spire at year’s end.
Notable Races and Milestones
LaJoie became the first Cup Series driver to flip twice in one season since Rusty Wallace in 1993, surviving airborne incidents at both Talladega and Michigan in 2024 without injury. He scored the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 win in 2022, a signature Truck Series victory that highlighted his short-track talent. His Stacking Pennies podcast and his new Stacking Pennies Performance brand have also become well-known fixtures in the NASCAR garage.
Corey LaJoie Career Wins
LaJoie has built a steady resume of wins across multiple stock car racing series, from short tracks to NASCAR national events. His victories include the 2010 Atlanta 150 in what is now the ARCA Menards Series and the 2022 Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, along with regional Late Model and K&N Pro Series East wins earlier in his career.
Craftsman Truck Series Highlights
LaJoie’s biggest national-series win came in 2022 at the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200, a memorable performance in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Returning to Spire Motorsports’ Truck program in 2025, he drove the No. 07 to a fifth-place finish at Michigan and then moved into the No. 77, where he again finished fifth at Richmond Raceway.
Corey LaJoie Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
LaJoie comes from one of stock car racing’s most respected families. His father, Randy LaJoie, is a two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion, winning back-to-back titles in 1996 and 1997. That championship pedigree shaped Corey’s early training and opened doors across the NASCAR ladder. He is also a Christian and has spoken openly about how his faith guides his racing career and his life away from the track.
Personal Life
LaJoie is married to Kelly LaJoie, and the couple has three sons: Levi Ronnie, Jenson Daniel, and Pierce Jackson (PJ) LaJoie. The family has been a steady presence throughout his travels across the NASCAR circuit.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season marked a new chapter for LaJoie as a part-time competitor and broadcaster. On January 27, 2025, it was announced he would run a part-time Cup schedule for Rick Ware Racing in the No. 01 car, beginning with the Daytona 500, and that he would also serve as an analyst for Amazon Prime Video’s NASCAR coverage. At the Daytona 500, he raced his way in through the Duels with a sixth-place finish in Duel 2, started 12th in the 500, led laps late, and was leading the inside line on the final lap before being caught up in a last-corner crash triggered by Cole Custer’s block.
On June 2, 2025, Spire Motorsports announced LaJoie would return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for nine races that season. He drove Spire’s No. 07 to a fifth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway, and on August 11, 2025, the team announced he would move into the No. 77 for the rest of the Truck schedule starting at Richmond Raceway, following Andrés Pérez de Lara’s departure to Niece Motorsports. He again finished fifth at Richmond, building momentum for the closing stretch of the year.
Balancing part-time driving duties with his new role as a Prime Video analyst, LaJoie has remained a visible and respected voice in the NASCAR garage. His combination of in-car experience and storytelling on the Stacking Pennies podcast has helped shape how younger fans connect with the sport, and his consistent top finishes in the Truck Series suggest more wins could be within reach before the end of 2025.