Inside the Cup Series garage, sitting at a table outside of the Haas Factory Team hauler, Corey LaJoie was eating lunch after his qualifying lap for a NASCAR race last month at Talladega Superspeedway.
But the Cup Series is not where he was actually racing. Instead of the main event, he was competing in the preliminary Truck Series race, as his status as a full-time Cup driver ended after the 2024 season.
For 2025, the 34-year-old LaJoie took on a role with Amazon Prime as an analyst, in addition to making sporadic starts in both Cup and Trucks, and continued to host his podcast, “Stacking Pennies,” while pursuing other business interests.
A busy calendar, most definitely, that in many respects is also fulfilling — albeit certainly different from how LaJoie spent the previous eight years when he competed exclusively in Cup. The abrupt change forced LaJoie to recategorize his priorities and how he sets out to define himself.
“I had (blindly) chased the dream of being a Cup driver and a Cup winner where I worked every day towards that goal for 20 years,” LaJoie told The Athletic. “I got damn close to it, but couldn’t quite get over the hump.
“And I had always thought, when the last page of that chapter of Corey LaJoie’s story of being a Cup driver closed, that was the end of my book, but I see now pretty clear there’s still so much left of the book.”
LaJoie had eight top-10s in four seasons with Spire Motorsports, six of them at superspeedways. (James Gilbert / Getty Images)
Not long ago, LaJoie was a rising Cup driver on backmarker teams who many thought could flourish in a bigger organization. But whenever those opportunities did come, LaJoie chose to stay loyal to his then-teams rather than pursue riches elsewhere.
But in the past few years, the perception of LaJoie’s trajectory has changed. When Spire Motorsports announced last summer it was releasing him from his contract, even though he had at least one year remaining on his deal, LaJoie struggled to accept it. His career had finally seemed set on an upward trajectory, only for it to fizzle out.
“I feel like I was the least happy I’ve ever been (in 2024) when no matter how much work you can put towards trying to make yourself better, the results don’t complement it because there’s people not pulling the rope collectively. And that is when the stress and anxiety and all that stuff builds up because no matter how hard you work, the deeper the hole gets, and then the results don’t follow, then it just spirals out and you lose self-confidence. And this is just like the death spiral for a racecar driver.”
With time comes perspective, though.
“You know the five stages of grief. I feel like I’m in the last stage of that now,” LaJoie said.
Further helping his outlook evolve was an unexpected new opportunity that emerged because he lacked a full-time ride in 2025. As Prime sought to round out its on-air lineup entering the streamer’s first year as a NASCAR media rights partner, it sought someone who not only would be comfortable in front of the camera but also had experience competing against current drivers and in the Next Gen car that is unlike any stock car from previous generations.
Thanks to hosting his weekly podcast, which is also aired in video form, television was a natural next step for LaJoie to try. And with 272 Cup starts to his name, with 108 coming in the Next Gen car, he checked the experience box.
To little surprise, LaJoie excelled as an analyst, earning praise for his affability, sense of humor and keen insight. The success brought much-needed fulfilment at a time when he was questioning himself, earning him praise from all corners of the garage — including from NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Rick Hendrick.
“I got such great feedback from not only the fans, like people in the industry that I have a lot of respect for, like Rick Hendrick,” LaJoie said. “I then realized how much equity I had in the garage and that I care way more about that equity than whatever equity is leading the fan base on X, because if you looked at X, (the fan base) turned on me for whatever reason.
“Being on Prime helped me weather the storm. When Prime is sitting there, and they have a list as long as they want, and they called me. Then they give you the right tools to be successful at your job, and we went and had a blast. … That helped turn the ship back the right way.”
Returning as an analyst for Prime is on LaJoie’s 2026 schedule, but beyond that, there is much still left to be determined.
One avenue was racing full time in both the Xfinity and Truck Series, and there were offers to do both, LaJoie says, except the appeal wasn’t there for him. He prefers to focus on securing a Cup ride, on a full- or part-time basis, with the caveat that it’s with a team that will allow him to be competitive. Starting over with a small team with the hopes of it blossoming into something bigger has a “been there, done that” feel to him.
Exactly what’s next on the racing side is something LaJoie doesn’t know. He’s adamant that he isn’t shutting the door on racing full time in Cup again, but says any future racing endeavors will be on his terms.
“I’ve been still chasing the dream of trying to get back to Sunday full time, and if that window is closed, I’ll just shift gears and go on to the next thing,” LaJoie said. “I am happiest when I have clear direction and goals to accomplish, and I feel like I’m working towards them.”