Corey LaJoie speaks out on racing in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Cars Tour 

Corey LaJoie, the Rick Ware Racing driver, weighed in on racing experience in the CARS Tour owned by NASCAR veterans Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick. He said that he found the experience to be great except for the drivers being inexperienced for the short track and said that the track might be too fast for some of the drivers competing in the race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

The CARS Tour is a premier grassroots late model stock car series based in the Carolinas, Virginia and Tennessee. The series has seen a renaissance under the leadership of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his high-profile ownership group.

In early 2023, Earnhardt Jr. joined forces with fellow NASCAR legends, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks to purchase the series from Jack McNelly. The series was founded in 2014 as a successor to the USAR Pro Cup Series, and since its inception has become a breeding ground for young talent. The series is known for running both late model stock cars and pro late models on the same night at the same venue.

Giving his honest take on Cas Tour after the recent race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Corey LaJoie told NASCAR journalist Peter Stratta:

"I mean just to come back here, Wilkesboro is pretty fun. God you get run over and it's like people don't know where their freaking fenders are at man. We ran more caution laps right now than we did green flag laps...We got it pretty good leading some laps got spun out on a restart fighting from behind...it's like a lot of these guys are darts without feathers a lot of them are excellent short track racers but a lot of them there's probably a little bit too fast of a racetrack for them."

Corey LaJoie is a third-generation racer and finished 28 among 36 drivers on his debut in the Cars Tour race on Saturday. LaJoie is the son of two-time NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity) champion Randy LaJoie.

Corey’s racing journey began in go-karts and late models, where he quickly established himself as a promising talent, winning the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Most Popular Driver award and finishing second in points that year.

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Corey LaJoie speaks his mind on full-time NASCAR return

Corey LaJoie, currently a part-time NASCAR Cup Series driver, spoke candidly about his future in stock car racing during an interview with FrontStretch Media ahead of his recent CARS Tour debut at North Wilkesboro.

LaJoie, who is driving the #12 car for KP Speed Motorsports in the CARS Tour, reflected on his transition from Spire Motorsports to Rick Ware Racing after the 2024 season and also said it would be 'great' to race full-time in the Cup Series again. He said:

"Hopefully we get this thing to turn in a 40-acre field. But you know, I’ve got connections on Sunday, but it’s got to be with the right group." [01:45 onwards]

"At the end of the day, whether you're late model racing or Cup racing, you got to be with the right group at the right time. Beyond that, man, you're just along for the ride. So you got to surround yourself with good people. And if those opportunities come up, great. If not, then I’ll just keep hanging out with my kiddos," Lajoie concluded.

Corey LaJoie kicked off the 2025 Cup season by qualifying 12th and finishing 22nd in the Daytona 500, and has since made three Cup starts this year, though he has yet to secure a top-ten finish