Corey LaJoie Warns His NASCAR Team for Almost Sabotaging Him in a Denny Hamlin-Esque manner Amid Kyle Busch Controversy

Published 04/20/2023, 12:33 PM EDT

Following the Martinsville Speedway race, Corey LaJoie, driving the #7 Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, landed himself in the spotlight. During the race, he and Kyle Busch were scuffling for position and Busch bumped him a few times in consecutive laps. It got to the point that the #7 crew chief Ryan Sparks told Lajoie to wreck Kyle Busch over the radio.

A couple of days after the race, Corey LaJoie, in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, shared his true feelings about the situation. During the conversation, he seemed to be sending a warning to his team. He expressed concern that their utterances over the radio could have ended up jeopardizing his entire season.

Corey LaJoie sends a warning to his team for jeopardizing him

Talking about the scuffle with Busch during the interview, a visibly frustrated LaJoie stated, “I was going to retaliate with an even bigger punch than he put on me. But Sparks come on the radio and says, you know, ‘When you catch the #8, do something.’

“And obviously, NASCAR is pretty sensitive to that, hypersensitive to that right now with, I believe, Carson Hocevar sitting out for a week watching because of, you know, something like that he did.”

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He added, “I told Sparks… Hey, I know, I see it for what it is. You don’t have to tell me what to do … As long as it’s not premeditated, they’re not going to do anything. They’re gonna let the boys have at it. But as soon as you say something on the radio, and then you go act on it, that’s when NASCAR has to step in.

“So, next time, if you see me getting in a little p**sing match, I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry,” he concluded.

After his run in w/ @KyleBusch, @CoreyLaJoie was told to get back at him by retaliating.
Given recent events, driver No. 7 opted to not follow through on it.
💭 “You don’t have to tell me what to do […] if you see me get into a little pissing match, I’ll take care of it.” pic.twitter.com/v1p7hHOykI
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) April 19, 2023

The Denny Hamlin penalty saga must have been playing in the back of LaJoie’s head as he clearly admonished his teammates for blurting vengeful statements on the radio, with NASCAR tuned in.

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LaJoie could have ended up in a Denny Hamlin-like situation

Not long ago, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin found himself at the center of controversy. The uproar ensued after he was involved in an incident that resulted in Ross Chastain’s car getting wrecked.

Nonetheless, NASCAR initially refrained from penalizing Hamlin during the race. However, it was only after the JGR driver candidly admitted to intentionally causing the incident on his podcast that the situation escalated.

Moreover, given NASCAR’s propensity to penalize those who confess their mistakes, LaJoie could have found himself in a similar predicament had he taken a similar approach.

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Ultimately, it was a wise decision for LaJoie not to intentionally wreck the number 8 car, as it prevented him from falling afoul of NASCAR regulations.

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However, his team’s request to cause an incident with Busch was problematic in itself. If they had not encouraged such behavior over the radio, the situation would have been far less contentious, even if LaJoie had collided with Busch.

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Written by:

Srijan Mandal is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. With a Master's Degree in Journalism from a top institution, Srijan has written over 1000 articles across various platforms. His passion for racing began at a young age and has only grown stronger over time.

Edited by:

Nischal Kandpal