NASCAR’s Corey LaJoie signs multi-year deal to race for Spire Motorsports

Spire Motorsports announced Monday evening that NASCAR Cup driver Corey LaJoie has signed a multi-year deal with the team. LaJoie will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet full-time for the two-car operation in 2021.

“On the race track competitively and just having a stake in the sweat equity of building something from the studs is really what I’m excited about,” LaJoie said about the move on his Sunday Money Podcast.

The deal is for two years with an option for a third year, according to Frontstretch.com.

LaJoie, 29, spent the last two seasons competing for Go Fas Racing in the No. 32 Ford. He earned one top-10 finish for the single car operation during the 2020 season and two top-10s in 2019 for the team. He previously drove for BK Racing (2017) and TriStar Motorsports (2018) in Cup events.

“(LaJoie) fits very well with our group and will obviously play a critical role in the success of our team as we continue to grow and develop,” Spire Motorsports co-owner T.J. Puchyr said in a statement from the team. “We’re going to build this together and Corey will be the anchor.”

Spire purchased the assets and Cup charter of Leavine Family Racing at the end of the 2020 season, allowing Spire to field a second car in the top series starting in 2021. Spire also fields the No. 77 Chevrolet and will name a driver for that car at a later date. Crew chiefs for both teams have not yet been announced.

LaJoie said on his podcast that his interest in driving for Spire was sparked by its addition of the second car. Team co-owner Jeff Dickerson noted on the podcast that NASCAR’s shift to the Next Gen car, which debuts in 2022, drove the team’s decision to purchase a second charter.

“With Next Gen and where it’s going, that was the bet for us,” Dickerson said. “There’s no other way through it...The way they have the model and (it’s) almost like a common car, but it’s what you do with it. We thought that would work for us.”

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The team has a partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing and Hendrick Motorsports and will use engines provided by Hendrick. Both LaJoie and Dickerson admitted to needing to fill more internal roles on the budding team before its Daytona 500 start next year, but said they are optimistic about the future.

LaJoie is a third generation driver who earned his best finish in 129 Cup starts at Daytona in the summer of 2019.

“We want people around us that know the difference between what’s a mistake that just happens and what’s a first year team mistake,” Dickerson said.

“You need racers,” Dickerson said. “And obviously with (LaJoie’s) lineage and everything (he’s) had to do with his own hands, (he’s) a guy that I think can come in and be like, ‘Yeah that was totally stupid,’ or ‘We just didn’t know.’ There’s a difference.”