Corey LaJoie’s schedule looks a lot busier now. Already confirmed to step in for the injured Brad Keselowski at the preseason Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, there had been a lot of talk around RFK Racing’s plans regarding Daytona. The 34-year-old will also take the wheel of RFK Racing’s open No. 99 entry as he attempts to race his way into the 68th Daytona 500. The other responsibilities underscore a hectic stretch for the veteran, with multiple opportunities lining up ahead of NASCAR’s biggest event. And now, LaJoie has finally opened up about how it all came to be.
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Speaking on the Stackin’ Pennies podcast, LaJoie laid out the behind-the-scenes conversations that led to this moment.
“Brad calls me. ‘Hey man, would love for you to help out here, drive the car at the Clash. And then it was like I was in this weird spot because the fourth car effort had been paused to figure out what Brad was going on, right? They might need me to drive the Daytona. So once it looked hopeful that Brad would be able to recover and go to 500, they then pushed play on the fourth-car efforts and sold it to the Trimble in-house partner. They’ve been trying to grow, and they called me to do it,” he said.
Corey LaJoie’s shot in the RFK Racing No. 99 Ford Mustang at the 2026 Daytona 500 stems from a combination of expanded team strategy and his growing relationship with the organization.
Keselowski’s team announced it will field a fourth entry in the Daytona 500, reviving the iconic No. 99, a number with a rich history for the team that delivered 40 wins between Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards from 1996 to 2014, with LaJoie behind the wheel in Speedweeks as an open entry trying to earn a spot in the Great American race.
Corey LaJoie talked a bit about how his opportunity to drive for RFK Racing came about on the season debut of Stacking Pennies:
>Corey said that he had started talking to Brad Keselowski around the start of the playoffs last year about doing the 5-6 superspeedway races in 2026,… pic.twitter.com/0zrUWkfyO3
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) January 28, 2026
His placement in that fourth car wasn’t random; he has built familiarity with RFK through his role as a reserve driver, stepping in to drive No.6 Ford at the Cook Out Clash exhibition while Brad Keselowski recovers from a broken leg.
Moreover, his conversation with RFK president Chip Bowers proved to be beneficial.
“And I was trying to hold it loosely. And Chip Bowers, new president of RFK, with whom I’ve hit it off, uh, he’s a dog. So definitely adding to the culture swing over there at RFK with Brad and that whole group,” LaJoie said.
And one can bet that Lajoie will give it his all, while Keselowski plots his return to Daytona.
But the 34-year-old driver’s NASCAR ride doesn’t stop here; LaJoie’s schedule looks busier than expected as he locks down another opportunity ahead of the season opener.
More doors open up for LaJoie
The workload expanded further on Monday when it was revealed that the North Carolina native will pilot the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opener at Daytona.
The truck has a recent history: it crossed the finish line 1st in last year’s race with Parker Kligerman behind the wheel, only for the victory to be stripped after a post-race inspection failure. This year, LaJoie will look to turn that near miss into a result that stands.
More importantly, the veteran has expressed his enthusiasm for the new partnership.
“It’s been fun putting this deal together for many reasons. First being, Parker is a good friend, and it’s cool to pick up the baton from him where he left off last year. Debbie Henderson-Creasy and Chris Carrier have the passion to continue Charlie’s legacy with Henderson Motorsports, and there’s no better place to do that than the World Center of Racing. Lastly, involving longtime friends and partners at Built.com and Alliance Driveaway really makes it a family outing. Ready to go put the 75 in the wind and see what we’ve got,” LaJoie said.
While LaJoie has built most of his resume in the Cup Series, totaling 276 career starts, he also brings recent track series momentum into the event.
During the 2025 season, he made nine starts with Spire Motorsports Producing an impressive stretch of results that included three top-five finishes and seven top tens, with the best finish of fifth. That experience could prove valuable on Daytona’s unpredictable superspeedway.