Corey LaJoie was loaned out to Hendrick Motorsports for a week back at Gateway, and it’s caused him to return to Spire Motorsports with a newfound respect.
Many fans and experts alike have been clamoring to see what LaJoie could do in some better equipment, as he’s done just about all he can do at Spire. While it was only one week, and there were plenty of internet issues to go around at Gateway, LaJoie had some trouble at Hendrick, never truly getting comfortable filling in for Elliott.
Still, he managed a solid finish on the day, and learned a thing or two during his venture. During an interview with FOX Sports, LaJoie explained the differences between Hendrick and Spire, which makes his success with the latter all that more impressive.
“Oh, for sure. The amount of information we don’t get here was staggering, whether it’s driver comparisons and stuff — anything that those guys have to continue to hone their thoughts and get better as a driver was big,” explained LaJoie. “But also being a key partner [of Chevy], those guys can see what RCR is running, what Trackhouse is running and what obviously each individual teammate car is running. And that’s a huge tool to be able to progress the entire company. And we’ve been doing that essentially with part-time teammates last year and Ty [Dillon] had a tough start to this year, but he’s starting to find his rhythm.
“Not having a ton of data points, I thought that was going to be where we were short. But then I saw it and I was like, ‘OK, no wonder why these guys are a continual, every year challenger for championships because they’re so deep and they’re so capable.’ They equip their drivers with what they need to get better. And each engineer and every crew chief is pushing each other for a better setup and more aerodynamics and all this stuff. The depth of what they have and the amount of information they have is quite impressive.”
Alas, not only does Hendrick have the best equipment and the best people surrounding their race team, but LaJoie’s insight into the amount of information they receive to improve their cars makes his success with Spire all the more impressive. The team is already batting from further down in the order, but they’re still finding ways to get on base.
Perhaps Corey LaJoie’s performance will lead to a bigger ride some day, but for now he’s making due with Spire, and helping their program grow into the future.