While many assumed Corey LaJoie would eventually leave Spire Motorsports and take his talents to a more established NASCAR brand, it seems his decision to stick around long-term was probably based on seeing more upside with the upstart team.
Just like in other professional sports, building a name and reputation that can be taken out into free agency to land better opportunities is a common strategy for NASCAR drivers. When Corey LaJoie joined Spire three years ago, the belief was he was in the early stages of a journey to bigger and better racing teams.
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However, when the time came to see if the grass was greener elsewhere, he chose to agree to a new multi-year deal with Spire. When the news was revealed earlier this year, it came as a major surprise to many around the sport since it looked like a powerhouse like Stewart-Haas Racing could be in search of not one, but two drivers for 2024.
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LaJoie would have been a solid replacement for either Kevin Harvick or Aric Almirola next season, with both expected to retire. Yet, in a column last week, The Athletic NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi explained why replacing Spire with SHR would not have been an upgrade for LaJoie.
“LaJoie’s average finish is better than Almirola’s and better than SHR teammate Ryan Preece, both of whom are at 21.6. And LaJoie is only one spot lower than SHR’s fourth driver, Chase Briscoe (20.0). In recent years, Harvick’s exceptional performance has looked all the more impressive considering what his SHR teammates have been able to do. And once he rides off into the sunset, there are zero guarantees SHR won’t regress even more from its halcyon days.
“Plus, any driver joining SHR faces outsized expectations that they should excel because, well, this is SHR, after all, even though that performance level is based more on how SHR used to do rather than its present state. A driver could go there and run well, though that could equate to what Almirola, Briscoe, and Preece are doing now, and yet to the outside world would feel like they’re underachieving.”
– Jordan Bianchi
From that point of view, it is understandable why Corey LaJoie may have passed on the chance of joining Stewart-Haas Racing — although that has not been confirmed as having actually been offered. To be the star on a lesser team with far lower pressure is a decision many other elite talents make in other major leagues and is a sensible choice for certain athletes.