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Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie has opened up on the final lap carnage at the Talladega Superspeedway after his #7 Chevrolet got a heavy bang on the driver's side door.
The 10th Cup Series weekend saw 23XI Racing win with Tyler Reddick while losing with Bubba Wallace in the Lap 157 crash that ceased his, Denny Hamlin's, and Erik Jones' 188-lap run.
The GEICO 500 ran smoothly without a caution until the first two laps. Though a few drivers spun a bit here and there, none was sufficient enough for the officials to issue a yellow flag. Nevertheless, the final stage witnessed multiple wrecks that slaughtered the high-octane cars being tamed on the 2.66-mile oval.
During the final lap, Michael McDowell was inches away from bagging his maiden victory this season. However, while preventing Brad Keselowski's bid to overtake him, the former spun on the track, collecting several cars. Corey LaJoie was among the victims of the white flag wreck as his #7 Chevy got massively impacted on the door.
Speaking on the massive wreck-fest that occurred at Talladega, LaJoie expressed how it felt like going amid the wrecked cars, saying (via NASCAR on X):
"You are just lined up like a cow going to the slaughter because you know you're gonna crash. You know that whatever car is in front of you is probably gonna see a little bit of puff of smoke and then smash."
Corey LaJoie speaks on his personnel transfer to Hendrick Motorsports for Kyle Larson's Talladega race
The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 held at the Texas Motor Speedway saw Chase Elliott end his 42-race winless streak, whereas, his teammate Kyle Larson suffered a two-lap penalty, courtesy of the rear right Goodyear compound parting ways with the car.
Moreover, the Lap 116 incident prompted the NASCAR officials to suspend tire changer Calvin Teague and jackman Brandon Johnson for the next two races, starting in Talladega. So, to fill the void, Hendrick Motorsports leased a pit crew from Spire Motorsports, more specifically Corey LaJoie's pit crew.
Speaking on the temporary personnel shift, the North Carolina native lay his views, saying:
"It's part of the deal. Also I like seeing my guys go to the house cars because those guys are making more money and my guys have shown they are very good. They've had a lot of great stops. I don't like losing them but I'm glad they're going to have some chance to win races on a championship car."
