This weekend, the NASCAR grid will be deprived of a familiar face, Chase Elliott. For the second time in the 2023 Cup Series season, he will be sidelined, though the duration is much shorter. At the time, he had injured himself in a snowboarding accident, forcing him to miss several races. This time, he is facing a one-race suspension for intentionally wrecking another driver. Previously, Josh Berry and Jordan Taylor deputized for Elliott. However, for this occasion, Corey LaJoie has been roped in. Ahead of his Hendrick Motorsports debut, his friend Bubba Wallace opened up on the matter.

Now, the Hendrick Motorsports team is considered one of the best teams in NASCAR. So it is safe to assume that Corey LaJoie could be in with a shout of taking his first career win. The prospect of racing for a team like HMS could be quite daunting, so one wouldn’t blame him for being nervous. In a recent talk with the media before the race weekend, Wallace admitted that LaJoie spoke to him.

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Bubba Wallace was thrilled to see this opportunity fall on LaJoie’s lap

During a pre-race interview at the World Wide Technology Raceway, Bubba Wallace mentioned talking to LaJoie about any pre-race jitters he might be having after joining the HMS garage. Wallace said, “I texted him right away. I was just pumped for him. He responded back that he was nervous. I was like, ‘There’s no need. There’s no need to be nervous.’

“Look at what he’s been doing this year and how they’ve turned around that program in the #7 team. It’s been fun to watch and to compete against. Because him and I go way back to the go-kart days and we’ve both been in similar situations. I know what I said, ‘Some paths are created faster for others than yourself.’

“We often call that BS and what it is, but it’s life, and your timeframe is played out how it’s meant to be played out from day 1.”

In essence, the 23XI Racing driver was suggesting that he had faith in his former go-karting rival. Wallace is not the only one impressed with LaJoie and the Spire Motorsports team’s progress.

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Why does Wallace believe that LaJoie can succeed in the Hendrick Motorsports car?

During the media interaction, Wallace went on to talk about the significance of driving the #9 for Lajoie. He continued, “He’s getting a shot and the best opportunity of his life. For him, he needs to go out and believe that it’s the #7 car. I figured out a lot about this sport, years ago. You talked to … running Xfinity cars, talking to Harvick, Kyle, or Denny. It’s like, ‘Man! I’m tight in the centre. I just can’t, I get slow.'”

He mentioned that the veteran drivers assured him that all of them face similar problems when it comes to speed. However, he added, “I figured out that all cars do the same stuff, but bigger budget teams, it just goes faster while doing it. The #9 car should have the same tendency as the #7, so it’s going to be faster, so enjoy, have fun.”

Last fall’s Talladega winner is of the opinion that in most aspects, all of the cars are the same. However, teams like HMS have the ability to extract more speed than others. In essence, the #7 and the #9 cars are nearly the same, so LaJoie would be able to adapt quickly.

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