Corey Lajoie will not race full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series this upcoming season but he will be present both on-the-track and peripheral to it.
For one, Lajoie will remain at Rick Ware Racing where he ended the 2024 season but this time in a part-time role driving a No. 01 under the Stacking Pennies Performance Brand. Lajoie will continue hosting the podcast of that name while also serving as a television analyst for the five Cup Series races that air on Amazon Prime Video.
Additionally, the third-generation racer will also attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 in a couple of weeks with Rick Ware with support from DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change.
“Rick Ware is someone who makes things happen, said Lajoie in a press release. “He’s a great guy who has been a generous friend in helping me get this vision of Stacking Pennies Performance off the ground.
“He’s allowed me to put the No. 01 on his Ford Mustangs, building off the brand fans have related to, supported, and cheered for over the past several years. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and excited for what’s ahead, beginning at Daytona with DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change.”
At 33-years-old, Lajoie was a bit of an underdog darling several years ago but the past 15 months just did not go well at Spire Motorsports. Lajoie began to crash with greater regularity, was involved in some bad break scenarios, and was effectively traded to Ware in September for Justin Haley.
“In many ways, my driving career has been more successful than I ever could’ve dreamed, yet I lose sleep feeling I never reached my full potential behind the wheel,” LaJoie said. “The pursuit of bettering myself and others around me has never been more important than it is right now.
My presence on the track will look different than it has in previous years, and it’s going to bring a new host of challenges, but my heart is set on making a lasting impact in the sport and the communities NASCAR reaches. Between Rick Ware, Prime Video, and the support of partners DuraMAX and Take 5 Oil Change, I’m able to follow my heart.”
Lajoie joins a stacked roster of open drivers trying to make the field that includes seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson at Legacy Motor Club, Justin Allgaier with the debut JR Motorsports effort, 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr with the debut Tricon Garage effort, Chandler Smith at Garage 66, Anthony Alfredo with Beard Motorsports and BJ McLeod.
There is also Helio Castroneves, who will race not matter what, either through competition means or through NASCAR’s new open entry provisional.
“If LaJoie, like any of these open drivers, are one of the two fastest open drivers in time trials or scores the highest finish among open drivers in their respective Duel qualifying race, that’s how you start the Great American Race.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.
