At Atlanta Motor Speedway, Corey LaJoie once more showed his talent by placing fourth on Sunday, a career-best.
LaJoie has consistently been the underdog, but in the early 2023 races, he has grabbed many people’s attention.
After four top-20 results throughout the first five races, the Spire Motorsports racer is now within the playoffs thanks to consistency.
LaJoie was well aware of the opportunities this event brings going into Atlanta. He achieved his first-ever top-five result in the opening race on the new track the year before. During that year, on the trip back to Atlanta, he came incredibly close to winning before wrecking due to Chase Elliott’s last-lap block.
He performed well this past weekend, outperforming his previous career-best result by one spot and finishing in 4th position.
“It feels great,” he said post-race. “It’s like this taboo, second sucks. Fourth is great. Fourth is great for our CELSIUS Camaro and our small team. Just a great points day. We started off the year, West Coast swing, really solid. To come back here, a bit of a crapshoot. To get another career best here..I don’t expect to show up and instantly win a race. You have to keep putting yourself in these positions, like Joey (Logano). That is why he wins all the time, because he’s up front all the time.
“As I get myself some more confidence, race around these guys, these guys see me up there racing with them, our day is going to come.”
He later added: “I hope (Logano) gives me a shout-out for pushing hm…gave him a good shot there at the end. I was probably fourth or fifth in the top lane there. I had an opportunity to get down and as soon as I didn’t take it, I was like – man that was the race. That was probably with 18 or 20 to go. That’s why these guys make millions of dollars.. they’re pretty good and know where to put their car.
“Fourth-place is a solid day for the No. 7 Celsius Chevy team.”
Lajoie feels that as the track ages, Atlanta will drive more like Daytona.
“Honestly, I think as this track gets a little more wear and abrasiveness to it, it’s going to be like old Daytona, where you’re bumping and sliding around, and your car has to be fast,” he explained. “I felt like the track lost 10 to 15 percent of grip from last year, so handling was a big thing. You could really drive or push if you wanted to, or you could be sideways. Our Chevy drove great. We were able to pick the right lanes at the right time, just a little short.”
LaJoie finishes this race in 14th place overall and is now focused on the year’s first road course at COTA.
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Nascar, NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity, Corey LaJoie, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Spire Motorsports
