By and large, Corey LaJoie can’t wait for 2020. (Photo Credit: Andrew Fuller/TPF)
The chaos of NASCAR’s silly season is enough to put a driver like Corey LaJoie through the wringer.
After all, heart rates sky-rocket, and brains go haywire with the potential possibilities. And that is just the reaction from the fans.
Not many of us conceptualize what goes on behind closed doors. Team owners discuss options in preparing a driver lineup for an upcoming season, be it a single or multi-car team.
However, Corey LaJoie did wonders for bringing attention to Go Fas Racing in 2019. From putting his face on his car at the Daytona 500 to allowing fans to have their names on his Watkins Glen and Charlotte cars (after a small donation to Samaritan’s Feet), LaJoie turned heads in Martinsville with a Scooby-Doo paint scheme.
Furthermore, he had a hot pink flamingo and palm tree covered car at the season finale in Homestead.
Corey LaJoie leaves no mysteries about the machine he’ll drive in 2020. (Photo Credit: Daniel Overbey/TPF)
In between, he painted an on-track “turtle” by flashlight in the middle of the night at the Roval that resembeld a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Above all, he played football with fans in the grandstands with friends Bubba Wallace and Daniel Hemric during a rain delay at Michigan.
With the 2019 season in the rearview mirror, fans of LaJoie and GFR waited with bated breath on the edge of their seats, and vocally on social media, to hear what the plans for 2020 would be. Listeners of LaJoie’s podcast, “Sunday Money,” received a small peek into the waiting game for 2020. For consecutive weeks, LaJoie didn’t have any news for his plans until this past Tuesday.
In fact, during a special edition of “Sunday Money” on December 3rd, LaJoie stated, “I’m going to be back in the 32 car at Go Fas Racing next year. It took a little longer to get done, more than both sides would have liked. I’m ultimately super excited to go back. We got some Stewart-Haas cars coming into the shop today!”
LaJoie confirmed it was a one-year deal, which GFR Owner Archie St. Hilaire prefers. He said only about seven or eight drivers seem locked for 2021. But he is fully focused on 2020 and the alliance with SHR.
He shared that the best option for him, with the best relationships and the best continuity, would be to return to GFR.
The hunt continues for a crew chief for LaJoie. Randy Cox, his previous crew chief, stepped down, citing a desire for more time with his family.
While goals have not been defined, LaJoie looks forward to better engines and new “metal.”
Specifically, LaJoie’s team added two cars from SHR, including the Phoenix car. Recall that Harvick, according to LaJoie, “smoked everybody” with that car in 2018.
LaJoie joked, “It might still have the confetti in it!”
Corey LaJoie will continue running down a dream in 2020. (Photo Credit: Andrew Fuller/TPF)
“Sunday Money” co-host, Lauren Fox, asked LaJoie for details about the fleet of cars. LaJoie stated it doesn’t include the engine. However, it will include suspension, rear end, truck arms, and more, making it “fairly close to what they would send to the race track.”
He added, “It will be better than the ‘four-year-old, Front Row/Roush cars’” he previously drove.
Sponsorship wise, Schluter “stepped up big time,” and Drydene would be returning, along with Samaritan’s Feet. He elaborated about pending additional sponsorship.
LaJoie and GFR had a 2019 goal to finish in the top 30 in points. By all means, they accomplished that, rounding out the season 29th with two top-10 finishes. With the newer equipment and backing from SHR, you could hear the excitement in LaJoie’s voice via his podcast as he anticipated what the upcoming season might hold.
