Corey LaJoie visited NASCAR R&D Center to discuss Michigan flip
In order to better understand what happened when he went in the air and upside down at Michigan, Corey LaJoie paid NASCAR a visit. The R&D Center was happy to host LaJoie and explain everything to him.
Flips are not new in NASCAR. However, the flip that Corey LaJoie took was puzzling. It started out as a routine spin and slide. But quickly became a flip and a huge slide on his roof.
The good news, the car held up. While it flipped, it took car of LaJoie and he was uninjured in the incident.
“All the guys that were there that could have explained it to me – in probably way more scientific terms than I could understand – had come down to Daytona already, whether it’s Jacuzzi … Probst,” Lajoie said on Friday, via Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut. “I haven’t had a chance to connect with those guys; it was just [John] Patalak. So, I looked at more of the interior stuff – the halo bars, the mouthpiece sensor data, stuff like that to get an idea. The car performed exactly how it should in the event of a roll.”
Following the wreck, NASCAR took LaJoie’s car to the Research and Development Center. There, they found out more of the reasoning behind the flip. Wind gusts, the underbody, wind flaps not being enough to hold down the car.
So, this week, NASCAR is adding a new right side fin to the car. Much like the one you see on the driver’s side already. A clear plastic fin on the roof to help keep the cars on all four wheels.
All things considered, Corey LaJoie is happy with how his car reacted in the incident. He can also take a bit of pride that he helped change the Next Gen car for the better.
“I guess I can own a piece of addition to the Next Gen car like the Petty bar, the Newman bar,” LaJoie continued, via Weaver. “They got the ‘Lajoie fin’ now in the right-side glass. I’m just an innovator. Just trying to innovate and make these cars safe.”
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much time to make more of an impact in the Cup Series.
Corey LaJoie losing his job at end of 2024 season
During the two week Olympic break, it was revealed that Corey LaJoie would not return to the Spire Motorsports No. 7 car. The two sides are parting ways and that means LaJoie has an uncertain future ahead of him.
LaJoie more or less made the jump to the Cup Series straight from ARCA. He has starts in the Xfinity and Truck Series, but he made a big jump when he was given an opportunity to do so.
In the first two years of the Next Gen car, LaJoie showed real improvement. Last season he had 0 DNFs and was a top-25 car in the Cup Series. But then things began to fall apart in 2024.
With the expectations rising drastically at Spire in the last year, Corey LaJoie was not delivering the results needed to keep his seat. The Cup Series is competitive and anyone can lose their ride based on one bad season.