“I feel terrible”: Corey LaJoie makes feelings known about Richmond clash with Ryan Newman

Ryan Newman got turned by Corey LaJoie during the latest NASCAR Whelen Modified race, the VA Racing Lovers 150 at Richmond Raceway. It all happened on a restart with 49 laps to go.

Newman, who was leading the pack at the time, hit the outside wall nose-first following the bump from LaJoie. The damage to his car was too much to fix, and it ended his day early. Interestingly, no one else was collected in the mayhem.

Corey LaJoie wasn’t happy about the fact that he was the reason Ryan Newman fell out of contention. Speaking with journalist Matt Weaver in a post-race interview, the former NASCAR Cup Series driver said:

“I would have loved to cut him a break, man. It just happened so quickly. I feel terrible about it because I even told myself to give a gap because I got wrecked at Wilkesboro leading the same way.”

LaJoie then explained that the bumpers no longer line up with the no-ride height, making it easy to get underneath somebody else’s bumper and move it. He didn’t expect Newman to spin out, but the hit to the latter’s left rear bumper hooked a right.

“I feel terrible. You know, he had a good day going, and I hate to wreck that. I hate to wreck him, hate to wreck anybody,” Corey LaJoie added.

Next at Richmond Raceway is the NASCAR Truck Series eero 250. Scheduled for Friday, August 15, the 250-lap event will be televised on Fox Sports 1 with live radio updates on NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Corey LaJoie lands a new Truck Series ride with eight races left in the season

Following last week’s race at Watkins Glen International, Corey LaJoie was tabbed to drive the No. 77 Craftsman Truck Series entry for Spire Motorsports for the remainder of the season. This was after Andrés Pérez de Lara left the team to join Niece Motorsports for the rest of the year.

LaJoie thinks that Spire Motorsports, a team that he has driven for earlier in the NASCAR Cup Series, is trying to get its money’s worth out of him. However, LaJoie wants to contend for wins and end the year on a sweet note.

“The last couple of months, they're paying me out of the contract,” Corey LaJoie said in an interview. “So it gets me off the couch. Get me out of my, you know, blowing some leaves and raking my backyard on a Sunday afternoon or Saturdays. Nonetheless, I want to go out there and give those guys a good effort.”

“There's a lot of my favorite race tracks in the Truck Series Playoffs. So it'll be cool to be in that garage and see some familiar faces. It's also cool to go back through the shop and see a lot of familiar faces,” he added.

Fans can watch LaJoie in action in the eero 250 at Richmond Raceway. The playoffs kick off at Darlington on August 30, so things will only get more interesting from here on.