Denny Hamlin thinks Corey LaJoie deserves another shot after filling in for Chase Elliott

Denny Hamlin believes Corey LaJoie deserves another shot in a top ride after an underwhelming performance filling in for the suspended Chase Elliott during Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

“Obviously not a great day for him,” Hamlin said on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast Monday. “I feel bad for Corey because when you think about it, he probably had super high expectations for himself and I think that it’s not fair to judge based off of one race. When I watched his car during practice, that thing was a handful. It’s not like any of the Hendrick [Motorsports] cars were a ball of fire by any means. Now, the 5 [Kyle Larson] got better throughout the race, the 48 [Alex Bowman] I think was probably running about 12th [or] 10th somewhere in that range throughout the race, that’s what he was capable of. And then the 24 [William Byron] had good track position and he was up front and he was in the top-five for most of the race — the outlier would be the 9 [LaJoie].

“But the 9 in practice was really bad and in qualifying. It was really bad… You look at just how their car was running down the straightaway it was just like man, he’s got his hands full for sure. I didn’t think it was a super strong track for Hendrick to begin with. So, not the best sample for Corey. But also, if you were to ask Corey, he probably would say ‘hey, these guys are really good, let’s give them credit, these are really good professional race car drivers out here…’

Corey LaJoie admits he ‘missed a little bit’ in Hendrick Motorsports debut

“It was humbling for Corey. But I don’t think we should put too much stock into it because it was a very tough situation… I think that Corey still deserves to have another shot and hopefully he’ll get that shot soon.”

LaJoie struggled, from hitting the wall in qualifying to roll off the starting grid 30th, to finishing P21 while averaging a 27th place running position. He was certainly disappointed with his performance, saying he “missed it a little bit.”

“We missed it a little bit,” LaJoie said Tuesday, via Racer. “I missed it a little bit; just couldn’t quite get settled into that NAPA Chevy. It was just different. Your switches are in a different spot. Your sight lines are a bit different and the car reacts differently. I don’t want to shy away from it. It wasn’t what the fans wanted to see. I wasn’t what I expected or what I thought I was capable of when that call came. But I’m not embarrassed by it. I’m not upset by it. I’m just disappointed.

“I didn’t leave [Hendrick] Monday after those meetings thinking I couldn’t do it. I actually left thinking that, OK, there’s a ton of value in continuity and a ton of value in just relationships within an organization. Where over the course of a weekend that driver/crew chief communication of trying to get that balance, trying to get it perfect for the driver’s style, we just didn’t have that opportunity. So, we missed the balance a little bit.”