LaJoie started his racing career in 1996, competing in kart racing events; winning 19 times on both dirt and asphalt tracks. He moved in 2003 to the INEX Bandolero series, scoring twelve wins and winning the series' Summer Shootout Championship. LaJoie began racing Legends cars in 2005, and in 2006 moved to the Aaron's Pro Challenge Series, where he won 10 of 12 races that year.[1]
Between 2007 and 2009, LaJoie competed in the UARA-Stars Late Model Touring Series; scoring one win and ten top-ten finishes in 17 starts in the series.[1] In 2009, he made his debut in the NASCARCamping World East Series at Thompson Speedway;[2] LaJoie remained in the series through the 2012 season, scoring his first win in the series in June 2012 at Bowman Gray Stadium;[3] He scored four additional wins over the course of the season, finishing the year second in points.[4]
LaJoie, who had been named to the 2012 NASCAR Next class of up-and-coming drivers,[5] entered the 2013 season with only a limited schedule planned, including selected NASCAR Nationwide Series races for Tommy Baldwin Racing,[6] however in June it was announced that he had signed with Richard Petty Motorsports as a development driver, with plans to run in the Nationwide Series later that year.[7] In addition, LaJoie ran a limited schedule in the ARCA Racing Series in the second half of 2013, winning his first start of the year, and second career start, at Chicagoland Speedway in July,[8] and then in his next race at Pocono Raceway in August.[9]
In 2017, LaJoie returned to the Cup Series and signed with BK Racing, driving the No. 83 Camry part-time.[13] Trying to make the 2017 Daytona 500 as an Open team (without a charter, thus no starting spot guaranteed) with BK Racing, LaJoie was turning his first laps at Daytona International Speedway during the Can-Am Duels due to practice being rained out.[14] Trailing Reed Sorenson, the only other Open driver, with under fifteen laps to go, LaJoie spun out Sorenson in the tri-oval, ensuring himself a spot in the 500[15] and making Paul Menard start at the back of the field as Menard was also involved in the crash and had to start in a backup car. After the race, LaJoie said that "I do feel bad"[16] and that "if that was my mom, I'd probably spin her out to make the Daytona 500 too." Sorenson was incensed after the incident, calling the crash "moronic" and "pretty crappy" while saying that LaJoie could have hurt somebody with reckless driving.[17]
In 2018, LaJoie moved from BK Racing to TriStar Motorsports for a part-time schedule, splitting the No. 72 with Cole Whitt.[18] LaJoie entered the 2018 season with high hopes in the Daytona 500, and qualified 32nd for the 500, but unfortunately blew an engine on lap nine. He made his second start for the team at ISM Raceway in March, once again blowing an engine early in the race. In the Coca-Cola 600, LaJoie went as high as eighth but finished 26th. At year’s end, TriStar shut down, throwing LaJoie out of his part-time ride.
LaJoie joined Go Fas Racing's No. 32 Ford in 2019.[19] For the 2019 Daytona 500, Go Fas Racing made headlines by placing a picture of LaJoie's face on the No. 32 car as part of Old Spice's sponsorship. LaJoie finished 18th after blowing a right-front tire just 20 laps into the race.[20][21] He scored two top tens during the year with a sixth at Daytona's Coke Zero Sugar 400 and seventh at Talladega's 1000Bulbs.com 500.[22][23]
He returned to the No. 32 for 2020 on a one-year contract extension.[24] In the Daytona 500, LaJoie impacted an airborne Ryan Newman coming to the finish, denting LaJoie's windshield and knocking the wind out of him; LaJoie, who finished eighth, was ultimately uninjured while Newman was briefly hospitalized.[25] On August 21, LaJoie announced that he will part ways with Go Fas Racing at the end of the 2020 season.[26]
LaJoie moved to Spire Motorsports' No. 7 on a multi-year agreement beginning in 2021.[27] LaJoie missed the FireKeepers Casino 400 due to COVID-19 protocols; LaJoie was close to a person testing positive for COVID-19 from his Stacking Pennies podcast studio while he was unvaccinated at the time.[28]
On March 15, 2022, crew chief Ryan Sparks was suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss during the 2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix.[29] At Atlanta, LaJoie led a career-best 19 laps and was on his way to claiming his first career win with two laps to go when Chase Elliott overtook him and blocked him on the high side, causing him to brush the wall and spin before colliding with Kurt Busch and finishing the race in 21st place.[30]
LaJoie started the 2023 season with a 16th place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500. He showed huge improvement over the past season with more consistent top-20 and top-30 finishes. On May 30, LaJoie was announced as the substitute driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 at Gateway after Chase Elliott was suspended for one race for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte. Carson Hocevar filled in for the No. 7, making his Cup Series debut.[31] He finished 25th in the points standings, his highest points finish in his career, and was the only driver to not have had a single DNF throughout the 2023 season.
On April 21, 2024 at Talladega Superspeedway, LaJoie was attempting to avoid an accident on the last lap of the race through the tri-oval when he got turned by both Ryan Preece and Carson Hocevar after those two made contact which shot them both up into LaJoie. LaJoie spun up the track into Josh Berry and ramped onto Berry's car and LaJoie's car got turned over coming to the checkered flag, and LaJoie finished the race with his car on its side, scored in 18th. A few feet after the line, LaJoie's car rolled over back onto its wheels.
LaJoie was a host of Motor Racing Network's Sunday Money podcast alongside Daryl Motte and MRN's Lauren Fox, talking about racing and current events; LaJoie and Fox were classmates in high school.[36] In 2021, he began hosting his own podcast Stacking Pennies on NASCAR.com.[37]
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold– Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics– Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. *– Most laps led.)
* Season still in progress 1 Ineligible for series points 2 LaJoie began the 2017 season racing for Cup Series points but switched to Xfinity Series points before the race at Homestead–Miami Speedway
Ryan Joseph Newman, nicknamed "Rocket Man", is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes in the SMART Modified Tour for Coulter Motorsports. He is the 2023 SRX Series champion.
Bradley Reed Sorenson is an American former professional stock car racing driver and spotter. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Premium Motorsports, the Nos. 74/77 Camaro for Spire Motorsports, and the No. 7 Camaro for Tommy Baldwin Racing. As of 2021, he works as a spotter for DGM Racing's No. 92 of Josh Williams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Sorenson began competing in NASCAR in 2004 as a Busch Series driver; he has four wins in the series. His first Cup start came in 2005 before moving to a full schedule the following year.
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Tyler Reed Dillon is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado for Rackley WAR, part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing and the No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Team AmeriVet, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 6 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports. He has also competed in what is now the ARCA Menards Series, what are now the ARCA Menards Series East and West, and what is now known as the NASCAR Canada Series in the past.
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Alexander Michael Warren Bowman is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro for the same team. He owns a Dirt Midget and Sprint car racing team Alex Bowman Racing. He is known for a record six consecutive front-row starts in the Daytona 500, from 2018 to 2023, winning the pole in 2018, 2021, and 2023.
Daniel Brian Hemric is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing.
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Ryan Preece is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart–Haas Racing.
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