(Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
HAMPTON, Ga. — With the laps ticking down, Corey LaJoie found himself in a rare but potent position. LaJoie had never won a NASCAR race, but he had the opportunity to change that on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
However, a block by leader Chase Elliott on the final lap dashed his chances as Elliott won the race and LaJoie finished 21st with a torn-up race car.
“I made my move and it didn’t work out,” LaJoie told USA Network. “[Elliott] made a good block and the siren is ringing in Dawsonville.”
LaJoie started Sunday’s race from 30th by the metric after rain washed out qualifying on Saturday. He slowly worked his way through the field by making smart decisions and avoiding the carnage. LaJoie finished Stage 1 in 22nd and Stage 2 in 10th.
By the middle of Stage 3, LaJoie found himself in the mix for the lead. On Lap 191 of 260, all the leaders pitted after a crash involving Kyle Busch and Cody Ware. LaJoie elected for a fuel-only stop and won the race off pit road to become the leader with 66 laps to go.
LaJoie led for seven laps after the restart but continued to battle Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and others in front. LaJoie briefly fell back a few positions, but with 13 laps to go, he launched back to second place after a strong move on Elliott. Quickly after, the caution came out.
Martin Truex Jr. led on the impending restart but Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin crashed on the backstretch. LaJoie had cleared Truex Jr. by the time of the caution and he was scored the leader heading to a restart with three laps to go.
(Photo: Blake Ulino | The Podium Finish)
“It’s about out of character just for me to be racing for wins,” LaJoie told reporters. “You have to be in control of the race. Nowadays, especially with these cars, the runs don’t come as fast as they used to and they’re a little easier to cover.”
On the restart, LaJoie held his ground with Elliott but Elliott cleared him in Turn 1 with two laps to go. On the white flag lap, LaJoie had a run entering Turn 1 on the high side but Elliott blocked and pinned him into the wall. LaJoie crashed and NASCAR called a caution to end the race.
“Everything is fair. You’ve got to win the race,” LaJoie said in defense of Elliott’s block. “You got to block, you got to dump, you got to send it in there. If you’re in position and you don’t make the move, then it’s your fault because the next guy is going to do it.
“It’s the last lap of the race in front of Dawsonville’s finest. You’ve got to go for it. That’s also the advantage of being the leader. You can throw the block on the guy going for it in second and then you can cover the next car in third. Had we not wrecked there, I probably would have been exposed and left three-wide top and would’ve finished ninth or tenth.”
LaJoie recorded his only top five of the season back in the March race at Atlanta.
“The paycheck I got for finishing fifth here the first race was one reason why I wasn’t content to run fifth,” LaJoie said. “It doesn’t pay enough to run fifth. You’ve got to win the race.”
LaJoie is 31st in driver’s points and a win would have still put him outside the playoff picture. To qualify for the playoffs, a driver must finish within the top 30 in points, regardless of a win.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
