“He Stuck His Foot in His Mouth” – Corey LaJoie Warns ‘Clumsy’ Denny Hamlin Amid $50,000 Fiasco

Published 03/16/2023, 3:06 PM EDT

Denny Hamlin has never really been in the good books of NASCAR. He has repeatedly criticized the governing body for its way of functioning, but this time around he’s caught being guilty. NASCAR penalized the Joe Gibbs Racing driver on Wednesday with a $50,000 bill and a reduction of 25 driver points. The fine came following his comments pertaining to the late-race incident between him and Ross Chastain at Phoenix Raceway. Interestingly, this comes just after Corey LaJoie warns him of his actions.

The Spire Motorsports driver and Hamlin have not always been on the same page. It isn’t any different even this time around. Recently, LaJoie cautioned the 23XI Racing co-owner in a way he understands best.

Corey LaJoie warns Denny Hamlin of a less detrimental approach

Article continues below this ad

It all went wrong for Hamlin when he had a rather very open discussion involving the incident with Chastain. The 42-year-old publicly admitted on his podcast how his actions were quite intentional, which eventually led to the penalty. Speaking with Fox Sports, LaJoie had his say on Hamlin’s unfiltered comments before NASCAR announced the fine.

The 31-year-old said, “I hope they [NASCAR] don’t do anything to him honestly… How it all transpired seems to be a bit clumsy to me for Denny’s standards. I kind of admit that I was a little bit surprised I think of the consistency of what I had expected… Hey, if that’s what he feels like he needs to do to send a message then it didn’t seem like the risk was worth the reward there.”

LaJoie further expressed his delight at how he’s not the one trapped in such a scenario. He said, “I have stuck my foot in my mouth on many occasions, I just have never been in the public eye as much as Denny has. I’m glad I’m not in the position that he is. It’s great that he’s talking about the sport and has a platform, I think he stuck his foot in his mouth slightly this week but hey he’s a big boy, he’ll figure it out.”

Before the penalties were announced, I asked Corey LaJoie if a possible Denny Hamlin penalty would impact what LaJoie — also a podcaster, albeit on a NASCAR one that would likely keep him from saying something that would get him penalized — says in public. pic.twitter.com/mMkdYfrb1N
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 15, 2023

The former Richard Petty Motorsports driver, later on, added how Hamlin could go about his podcast. LaJoie said, “I think it’s great that a guy like Denny, playoff guy, you know multimillionaire guy has a platform to talk about because he has very high-level IQ of racing.

“The opportunity is there, he’s got a lot more conversation to the sport, being a team owner with RTA stuff, there are a lot of hot burning topics, and he has to kind of talk his way around.“

Denny Hamlin Spells Hendrick Motorsports Doomsday for Joe Gibbs’ Insane NASCAR Record “Even With Chase [Elliott] Out”

Those are some wise words from the North Carolina-born driver. No wonder the fans were upset for him after a certain Hendrick Motorsports announcement.

NASCAR fans suffer a setback with Chase Elliott’s announcement

It was a devastating loss for Hendrick Motorsports to lose Chase Elliott with a serious injury. The NASCAR Cup Series giants looked at several options for his replacement, with several being linked with a move. One of them was Corey LaJoie. When HMS confirmed Josh Berry as the official replacement, it turned out to be a big blow for the fans.

While there was a lot of social media buzz on whether Corey LaJoie could end up as a substitute for Chase Elliott, he said he never had any talks about it and has no idea if he was ever considered a possibility. pic.twitter.com/ZdxsH5vbef
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 11, 2023

Article continues below this ad

NASCAR fans had high expectations of LaJoie’s rumors coming true, but were taken aback by the announcement. One of the disappointed fans said, “Corey is a stud and he’s proven it in the 7 this year, If he races in the #9 he will run top ten majority of the races and might even win a race.“

WATCH THIS STORY: Triggered Denny Hamlin Shares What Goes on Behind the Scenes of His Social Media Posts

Article continues below this ad

It just wasn’t meant to be for LaJoie. Nevertheless, the Spire Motorsports driver has the chance to impress once again this season. Hopefully, we shall soon see him racing in a fast car.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Priyank Mithani is a NASCAR writer at Essentially Sports. Since completing his graduation, he has been pursuing a career in the Media & Entertainment industry. With a zeal to write creative and insightful content, he started his journey as a freelancer in 2018.

Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh

“He Stuck His Foot in His Mouth” – Corey LaJoie Warns ‘Clumsy’ Denny Hamlin Amid $50,000 Fiasco

Corey LaJoie warns Denny Hamlin of a less detrimental approach

NASCAR fans suffer a setback with Chase Elliott’s announcement

Trending

Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Stepmother Follows Through on the Grudge, With His Legacy Also Hanging in the Balance

Rick Hendrick & Co’s Partnership with Tarnished Sponsor Triggers Bitter Outburst- “F*CK Liberty”

5’8” Noah Gragson Shuts Down Carson Hocevar’s “Short” All-Star Gibe in 3-Words

“It’s Exhausting”: Dale Earnhardt Jr Exposes the Consequences of Denny Hamlin Being NASCAR’s Poster Boy

‘P*ssed Off’ Noah Gragson Calls Out NASCAR’s All-Star Race’s Only Aspect That Leaves Entire Teams Out to Dry