Denny Hamlin declares Corey LaJoie ‘is his own worst enemy’ after Michigan wreck

Corey LaJoie had another rough outing in Monday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

LaJoie lost control of his No. 7 Chevrolet on Lap 136, flipping and taking a ride on his roof down the backstretch. It was a scary sight in real time, and Denny Hamlin was one of the drivers who had the best look at it. Hamlin drove by as LaJoie went flying through the air and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Per audio from his onboard camera, Hamlin declared LaJoie “his own worst enemy.”

“Corey LaJoie is just outta control, man. He’s his own worst enemy” – Denny Hamlin pic.twitter.com/xm94VEk9EE

— BrakeHard (@BrakeHardBlog) August 19, 2024

“Corey LaJoie is just outta control, man,” Hamlin said. “He’s his own worst enemy.”

LaJoie was scored with a P32 finish, now the eighth time he’s finished 32nd or worse this season. It’s been a disaster, yes, but the best news to come out of all this is that LaJoie remarkably came out unscathed from the accident.

“That’s just about how the year has gone,” LaJoie said, via Dustin Long of NBC Sports. “We have a good car and I find a way to flip it upside down. Twice this year, we’ve been upside down and I hadn’t been upside down my whole career. That’s just unfortunately how the year for the No. 7 team has been all year. We’ve had speed, just haven’t been able to put it together. The No. 10 [Noah Gragson] chopped me a couple of times, especially off [Turn] 2 when I’d have a run.

“I hadn’t seen a replay yet… if he pulled it off the wall when I was trying to get to his left rear to slow him down. But it was a ride, buddy. There were sparks, dirt and all sorts of stuff coming in. I just hate that our Garner Trucking Camaro got a little beat and banged up. I think we had a top-10 to 12 car today, but we ended up on our roof.”

Denny Hamlin addresses car safety after Corey LaJoie’s terrifying Michigan crash

LaJoie’s flip raised some questions around the garage, many wondering how the Next Gen car took flight so easily. His car will go back to the R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, to be inspected.

Hamlin did address the safety of the Next Gen car after the race.

“I mean, the cars I feel like are pretty safe in roll-over situations. Seems like between that and intrusions, that’s kind of the strong point of the Next Gen car,” Hamlin said. “We saw with [Ryan] Preece [at Daytona last year], he had some bloody eyes, but he had a pretty violent one. His body was banged up, but he didn’t have any serious injuries. That’s what the goal of it was.

“His [LaJoie’s] looked obviously less violent. He was just right in the middle of the straightaway probably doing 185 or so when he turned sideways. I just don’t know that you’re going to be able to slow it down enough to keep the car on the ground in that situation.”