Should NASCAR drivers stay loyal to their teams? Should they be blamed if they move to other teams for better opportunities? Answers to these questions are hard to pin down, as they differ depending on perspective. Recently, Corey LaJoie made his position on the matter clear.
LaJoie is now a familiar face in Amazon Prime’s NASCAR broadcast team and is occasionally seen racing on the Cup and Truck Series. But would he still be a regular racer if he had made different career choices earlier?
Corey LaJoie Opens Up on Loyalty and Lost Opportunities in NASCAR
Recently, a fan posted on the NASCAR subreddit, arguing that loyalty to certain teams has hurt some drivers’ careers. They cited Ward Burton, Jerry Nadeau, and Jeff Burton as examples to support their point.
The post was shared on the NASCAR subreddit’s X account and caught LaJoie’s attention. He commented on it, suggesting he agrees with the main argument that loyalty can sometimes be detrimental to a driver’s career.
LaJoie began with a general observation applicable to all sports before referencing his own career. “Loyalty in any professional sport doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. I wish I would’ve learned it sooner,” the 33-year-old said.
Loyalty in any professional sport doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. I wish I would’ve learned it sooner.
— Corey LaJoie (@CoreyLaJoie) September 15, 2025
LaJoie was likely referring to his Spire Motorsports run between 2021 and 2024. After a few sporadic appearances, he secured his first full-time Cup Series ride with Go Fas Racing in 2019.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-native had two top-10 finishes in his debut season, and those came at difficult venues like Daytona and Talladega. He added one more in 2020, once again at Daytona, before making the jump to Spire Motorsports in 2021.
He raced three seasons in the Cup Series under the Spire Motorsports banner but never finished above 25th in the standings. He recorded four top-10 finishes for Spire, two of which came at Daytona.
LaJoie was the first driver to pilot Spire’s No. 7 in the Cup Series. He helped the team establish itself in the series, but with an average finish above 20th, Spire decided they needed a more consistent driver for the No. 7 ride.
He left Spire halfway through the 2024 season, and Justin Haley inherited his seat at Spire. Since then, he has been racing part-time in the Cup Series for Rick Ware Racing.
LaJoie’s comments suggest he hasn’t forgiven the Spire leadership for letting him go, yet he has returned to compete in the Craftsman Truck Series for the team this season.
LaJoie might have fared better had he sought other opportunities during his time with Spire in the Cup Series. However, the truth is, he wasn’t a high on-demand driver in the Cup Series garage, so we’ll never know how his career might have developed if he had left Spire earlier.
