NASCAR mandates air deflector on right side of car following Corey LaJoie's flip

NASCAR is mandating a new right-side rear-window air deflector after Corey LaJoie‘s car flipped in the air during the Michigan Cup Series race on Monday. The mandate will begin Saturday when the drivers compete in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR said, “Following wind-tunnel testing this week, the added component to the Next Gen car increases the liftoff speed of the car in the early part of the spin, making it less likely get airborne.” The organization will supply the part and will match what is currently on the left-side rear window.

LaJoie’s No. 7 car flipped after he made conctact with Noah Gragson late in the FireKeepers Casion 400. On his Stacking Pennies podcast, LaJoie gave an update on his health.

“I got, if 3,000 people didn’t ask me if I was doing OK, not one had, but I’m doing fine, appreciate you for asking,” LaJoie said. “Pretty much just more frustrated with how the year has gone more than how I feel. I’m sore, but just pretty pissed off that we had a really good car and continue to not show result for it.”

Corey LaJoie reveals his thought process during flip

LaJoie also explained what was going through his mind during the flip. “So I hit him and I started spinning out, I’m like damnit, just lock it down, try to keep this thing going,” LaJoie said. “I’ll drive around with flats on and we’ll put tires on it and we’ll still try. I was thinking about that all in the span of it getting sideways, then it picked up and I’m like, ‘Oh s***, I’m flying through the air.’

“There’s like rocks and dust and dirt and my eyes are kind of like closed because my stuff, like there’s sparks and stuff hitting me in the face. I’m like why am I getting stuff in my eye here, I’m like, ‘Oh, my visor’s open.’ So I shut my visor and I’m like holding my visor like this, then I hit the wall upside down and the wheel like rips out of my hand and I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, I’m still going pretty fast, let me grab my seatbelts.’ Then I got to the grass and it was like ugh, ugh, ugh. Bigger than a softball size clump of grass landed right in my lap.”

On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this story.