NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie has revealed a major career U-turn after thinking his days racing at the highest level were over.
The Charlotte, North Carolina native has competed in 276 Cup Series races during his NASCAR career so far, but had to make do with a part-time gig for 2025 having lost his seat at Spire Motorsports at the end of 2024.
This meant that 2025 was a mixed bag for LaJoie, racing multiple times in both the Cup and Truck Series, and also appearing as an analyst on Prime Video's coverage of the Cup Series races last spring.
Corey LaJoie reveals NASCAR u-turn
In a recent interview with The Athletic, LaJoie has admitted that he thought losing his Cup Series seat was the end of his career. However, many months on, he realises his story is not finished.
"I had (blindly) chased the dream of being a Cup driver and a Cup winner where I worked every day towards that goal for 20 years,” LaJoie admitted
"I got damn close to it, but couldn’t quite get over the hump, and I had always thought, when the last page of that chapter of Corey LaJoie’s story of being a Cup driver closed, that was the end of my book.
"But I see now pretty clear there’s still so much left of the book.”
LaJoie: I'm in the last stage of grief
Reflecting on his last full-time season in the Cup Series in 2024, LaJoie has admitted feeling low and helpless.
“I feel like I was the least happy I’ve ever been, when no matter how much work you can put towards trying to make yourself better, the results don’t complement it because there’s people not pulling the rope collectively," the 34-year-old explained.
"And that is when the stress and anxiety and all that stuff builds up because no matter how hard you work, the deeper the hole gets, and then the results don’t follow, then it just spirals out and you lose self-confidence. And this is just like the death spiral for a racecar driver."
LaJoie concluded: “You know the five stages of grief. I feel like I’m in the last stage of that now."
What the future holds for LaJoie remains to be seen. He looks set to return on Prime Video's coverage of the Cup Series and is also focused on returning to NASCAR's top series, even if it is on a part-time basis.
Indeed, he is already said to have rejected multiple offers to drive full-time in the O'Reilly Auto Parts and Truck Series in 2026.
