Corey LaJoie came tantalizingly close to securing a Daytona 500 win – a win that would have been one of the greatest moments of his career. His team strategy unfolded almost perfectly, yet success slipped through their fingers in the final stretch.
Completing 499 miles, only to fall just short, must have been very painful for the driver who hails from North Carolina. Throughout the race, the team’s execution was brilliant, even if the win remained elusive.
“Daytona … we checked every box that we set down there to do and when we went down there our goal was to put ourselves in that spot and give us a shot to win,” he said via a press release. “We were about a mile away, legitimately, after 499 miles of doing that.”
LaJoie was full of praise for the team’s efforts and the car they built for the Daytona weekend. His machine’s performance was on fire during the event, giving LaJoie a boost in his confidence.
“I can’t say enough about the guys at the shop that built that car. We came out of the box with a lot of speed and that really allowed us over the course of the weekend to go do what we wanted to do and execute.”
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Aside from the disappointment, this near-win holds potential benefits for LaJoie’s sponsorships and future races. A strong performance at a prominent event like the Daytona 500 can have positive ramifications for sponsorship deals. He said:
“Anytime you can run good and contend for wins that gets your existing partners fired up and it also allows you to put together some really cool marketing decks with the 01 leading the field at the 500 to go try to sell a couple more.”
His sights are already set on the upcoming Atlanta race, where he is optimistic.
“Daytona was great, but I’ve also been even closer to winning here at Atlanta. That’s why we circled this one to come here with AirMedCare Network, to go to contend and put ourselves in the same spot we did last week.”
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LaJoie is looking forward to a promising 2025 season, with his performance so far looking very positive. Daytona, though not resulting in a victory for the driver, serves as a robust foundation for this weekend that will hopefully have him going in with a smile.
He will start 35th in tomorrow’s race.
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NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 2025 Starting Lineup
- Ryan Blaney – Team Penske
- Austin Cindric – Team Penske
- Josh Berry – Wood Brothers Racing
- Joey Logano – Team Penske
- Todd Gilliland – Front Row Motorsports
- Kyle Busch – Richard Childress Racing
- Zane Smith – Front Row Motorsports
- Chris Buescher – RFK Racing
- Brad Keselowski – RFK Racing
- Noah Gragson – Front Row Motorsports
- Ryan Preece – RFK Racing
- AJ Allmendinger – Kaulig Racing
- Alex Bowman – Hendrick Motorsports
- Bubba Wallace – 23XI Racing
- Austin Dillon – Richard Childress Racing
- Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports
- William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports
- Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports
- Tyler Reddick – 23XI Racing
- Ty Dillon – Kaulig Racing
- Justin Haley – Spire Motorsports
- John Hunter Nemechek – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
- Cole Custer – Haas Factory Team
- Michael McDowell – Spire Motorsports
- Chase Briscoe – Joe Gibbs Racing
- Carson Hocevar – Spire Motorsports
- Riley Herbst – 23XI Racing
- Erik Jones – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
- Daniel Suarez – Trackhouse Racing
- Shane Van Gisbergen – Trackhouse Racing
- Cody Ware – Rick Ware Racing
- Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing
- Ross Chastain – Trackhouse Racing
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – HYAK Motorsports
- Corey LaJoie – Rick Ware Racing
- Ty Gibbs – Joe Gibbs Racing
- Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing
- BJ McLeod – Live Fast Motorsports
- JJ Yeley – NY Racing Team
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