Corey LaJoie almost became a winner at Atlanta, but only to get squeezed into the wall by Chase Elliott. He ended up finishing 21st with a heavily damaged car. Had that incident not occurred, he could have got his maiden NASCAR win last Sunday in a spectacular fashion.

In an interview, Former NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon praised Corey‘s efforts.

“I like Corey’s attitude, his drive and he’s got a lot of passion he showed that today. I thought he and the team and the car showed a lot today. You want a guy like that who has the pedigree and passion he has to get the opportunity that he’s searching for, and I think today will go a long way.”

He further expressed, “It was a lot of fun watching them racing hard but also racing together. I kind of wish it could have been a 1-2 instead of the way it ended up. He’s been around a long time and knows the ebbs and flows, and his performance will do more for him today than the result will show.”

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Winning the race on Sunday could have very well been Corey’s chance to make it into the playoffs.

Corey LaJoie’s season so far

Corey’s season, in general, has been a bit abysmal this year. Both his performance and his teams have been anything but good. Since he is sitting right on the edge with 31st playoff rank, his 2022 stint might very well end with the regular season.

Finishing 34th or lower in the last few races hasn’t exactly helped him climb up the standings. However, Spire Motorsports, the team he races for, has had its own share of reliability issues throughout the season. So his underwhelming results don’t necessarily translate to him being a bad driver.

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With the last seven races remaining before the playoffs, Corey still has a chance if we consider his show of pace at Atlanta before he was punted into the wall. And how can we forget that he now has Jeff Gordon backing him up?