Promising day goes sideways for Corey LaJoie, Spire
LAS VEGAS — Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 was the first real test of performance for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and Spire Motorsports passed it.
Corey LaJoie carried the banner in the first two stages. Crew chief Ryan Sparks put him in fourth with a strategy call on lap 11. When they and everyone got on equal tires, LaJoie held on and only slid back to seventh — his final stage finish.
LaJoie’s crew rallied during the stage caution to get him to fourth to start stage two. Again, he ran inside the top-10 through the stage before placing 12th.
In the final stage, things started going wrong for LaJoie.
“We were really good, had a good car. We lost the handle when the weather cooled down,” LaJoie said.
Teammate Carson Hocevar ran 11th-15th. Hocevar’s best stage finish was 12th in stage one but he passed stage points earners Chase Elliott and Austin Cindric at one point in the race and rallied after a tire issue in stage two.
After placing 20th in stage two, Hocevar found himself in 13th by lap 182 and 10th by lap 200.
As LaJoie’s car started to fade, Hocevar had him in his clutches. To LaJoie, he squeezed too hard.
“We got plugged in the fence by our teammate and it drove like s-it after that,” LaJoie said post-race.
“Then we got wrecked.”
LaJoie spun in turn two and hit the outside wall, bringing out the final caution of the race on lap 236.
LaJoie lost a lap due to damage repair. With 31 cars on the lead lap for the final restart and no one else on the same lap, 32nd, one lap down was all he could show for such a promising day.
“It was the best day I’ve had at the racetrack. Ever. I’m encouraged by that,” LaJoie said.
Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar closed out a 15th-place finish after starting 14th.
On how Lajoie’s conversation with Hocevar will go, LaJoie said, “We’ll see.”
Teammate Zane Smith stayed out of their trouble but not out of trouble. Smith pitted after smacking the wall in the opening laps. He lost 13 laps and finished 36th.
LaJoie sits 17th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver points, -2 points from a playoff spot. Meanwhile Hocevar is 25th (-20) and Smith is 31st (-36)
The Shriners Children’s 500 is next,March 10 at Phoenix Raceway. The green flag flies just after 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TRE could not reach Carson Hocevar for comment after the Las Vegas race.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com