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Corey LaJoie 'ready to go' in place of Chase Elliott for Enjoy Illinois 300

JHby:Jonathan Howard•06/04/23•

Jondean25

Corey LaJoie Gateway
(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

There is a lot of pressure on Corey LaJoie this Sunday. But the NASCAR driver is prepared to take over in place of Chase Elliott. The Enjoy Illinois 300 is just like any other race for LaJoie, except it could be career-changing. Everyone, including LaJoie himself, believes in better equipment, with a better crew, the driver has it in him to compete with the best of the best. Now he’s got what he’s been wishing for, at least for one race.

Ultimately, Corey LaJoie has been able to score top-5 finishes in Spire Motorsports equipment. He has driven his Chevy much better than his teammate Ty Dillon has this season so far. Based on that, there is a little truth to the belief that LaJoie overperforms his team and car.

“I hope to do Chase [Elliott] a great job, champion guy so it’s definitely a tough situation to jump in and fill in with a championship team with Alan [Gustafson] and the entire NAPA 9 team. But I’m up to the challenge and I’m ready to go,” LaJoie told Jamie LIttle ahead of today’s race.

World Wide Technology Raceway is packed and is ready to watch the Enjoy Illinois 300. Corey LaJoie is in a position that he has never been in before. He’s not used to having all of these crew members and all of the details that Hendrick Motorsports is able to focus on.

LaJoie in place of Chase Elliott. In some other alternate reality, this is the way the Cup Series looks on a regular week. But for us in this reality, it is a strange phenomenon, like living in the Twilight Zone.

Corey LaJoie’s big moment

He might have been stacking pennies for all of these years, but Corey LaJoie is cashing those in for some crisp dollar bills this weekend. You don’t bring pennies to a Hendrick car, they just don’t go together. So, for LaJoie, it is do or die so to speak.

The one thing that Corey LaJoie can’t do is run all race with no issues and come away P15 or worse. If he comes out flat, is boring and has no real impact on the race, it will be all for nothing. Just a driver that filled in for Chase Elliott that one time.

However, this could open up opportunities for LaJoie. He can put himself on the map and in front of all of the best teams in the Cup Series. Prove that with just a little more support, LaJoie can be a contender.

While that would be a lot to read into based off of one race, it is the reality. Corey LaJoie might just change the trajectory of his career in St. Louis this Sunday.