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“77 Car Has Beat the 7” – Corey Lajoie Gives His Take on the Arrival of Carson Hocevar and It’s Impact on Spire Dynamics

Published 01/24/2024, 10:11 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Corey LaJoie is a seasoned race-car driver for Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series. With 236 Cup races under his belt, he is among the experienced campers from the Spire team and will look to pass on the tricks of the trades to the new blood. The addition of rookies Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith has ushered in a new chapter for the team, and LaJoie believes that the competitive environment will only push everyone to do better.

For all the experience and seat time Corey LaJoie has had in NASCAR, he has yet to take home his first Cup win. The son of two-time Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie, Corey is yet to reach the heights his old man did back in the day. Spire Motorsports has invested heavily in reorganizing the team, and the addition of fresh faces is one of them. With the new blood moving in, there will be pressure on Corey LaJoie to deliver, and he is very much up for the challenge.

Corey LaJoie believes he’s yet to learn a lot

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Piloting the No. 7 Chevrolet for his team, Spire Motorsports, LaJoie has taken the changes at the team pretty well. With the takeover of Kyle Busch Motorsports and the addition of the young drivers, rookie Carson Hocevar will be piloting the No. 77 Chevrolet, while Zane Smith, who has joined Spire in alliance with Trackhouse Racing, will be driving the No. 71 car. However, the leader of the pack will be Corey LaJoie, driving the No. 7 car.

In a recent interview with FOX’s NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass, Corey LaJoie explained how the new addition will bring in new dynamics and how the young duo can push him to be a better race car driver. He said, “I hope, I mean I don’t know what people’s definition of better is. I think over the last few years the 77 car has beat 7 car like four times. You know I have a lot to learn and grow as a race car driver but people don’t realize what we, Ryan Sparks and I have been able to overachieve with that 7 and it’s nice for those guys to come in. The foundation’s already been laid, they can hop in the cars with good people around them.”

Additionally, with the new season in focus, the 32-year-old believes that a playoff spot is well within his team’s reach.

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The No. 7 driver has set the bar high for this NASCAR 2024 Cup Series campaign

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Spire Motorsports is not a powerhouse of a racing team in NASCAR. The Daytona 500 win in 2019 with Justin Haley is their only win in the Cup Series. No wonder they have made positive strides in terms of expanding their roster, team resources, and even landing sponsorship deals. It seems the team is striving for better results, and Corey LaJoie has made a huge claim in terms of expectations for the upcoming season.

Speaking on SiriusXM, he said, “I feel like, if we don’t make the playoffs, we’ll be pretty frustrated. We got so many great additions to our race team. Moved shops, and there are four Truck teams in there with us. The entire #77 crew with Luke Lambert leading that team is going to be super strong. We’ve been more or less operating as a one-car team in the last three years. With this new car, trying to fine-tune and refine that baseline is so important.”

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Watch This Story – The Legacy Mysterious & Mysterious Disappearance Of NASCAR Innovator 

Considering how well-equipped the entire Spire Motorsports team is, alongside the leadership role of Corey LaJoie, they can well and truly turn out to be the ‘Dark Horse’ 2024 NASCAR Cup series.

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Written by:

Chintan Devgania

631Articles

One take at a time

It was the Fast & Furious movies that acted as my gateway to the world of cars and motorsports. Later, as I completed my undergrad in Journalism, I learned how to channel my thoughts and opinions, which only helped me kick-start my career as a sportswriter. Having written multiple copies for the Scottish Daily, I am now looking to expand and contribute at EssentiallySports as a NASCAR writer, informing, enlightening, and entertaining the fans with my stories.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta