Well, that escalated quickly.
What seemed like a simple spin for Corey LaJoie rapidly transitioned to a flipping crash down the backstretch at Michigan International Speedway.
LaJoie was attempting to pass Noah Gragson on lap 135 of Monday’s rain-delayed race when the pair made brief contact. That sent LaJoie’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet spinning to the left, where it near-immediately began to take flight. The car flipped over and rolled down the backstretch and into the inside wall on its roof before catching the grass near Turn 3 and flipping twice before landing on its wheels.
The Spire Motorsports veteran was unhurt in the incident. He climbed out of the car under his own power and was evaluated and released from the infield care center.
COREY LAJOIE FLIPS AND SLIDES UPSIDE DOWN!#NASCAR | USA Network pic.twitter.com/Iyd3frqX5C
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 19, 2024
“That was a ride, buddy,” LaJoie said. “There’s sparks, dirt and all sorts of stuff coming in.”
The accident came as a surprise to all involved. NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton quickly criticized the actions of the car as LaJoie’s team pondered if a gust of wind had caused the flip.
“Quite honestly, that’s just not acceptable,” Burton said. “There’s no way that a car, when it turns like that, should get up into the air that easily. There has been millions of dollars and hours and hours of time spent to prevent that from happening. That’s going to catch everybody by surprise.”
For LaJoie, it’s the latest bad break in what’s been a challenging year for his No. 7 team. The son of two-time Xfinity Series champion Randy Lajoie seemed poised for a breakout year after finishing a career-best 25th in the 2023 championship. Spire Motorsports is an organization on the rise and LaJoie was positioned to be the team leader. But the 32-year-old has been overshadowed by rookie teammate Carson Hocevar, is already confirmed to be leaving at year’s end and sat a disappointing 29th in the standings coming into Michigan.
LaJoie had ran in the top-10 during parts of Stage 2. But after the crash, he was relegated to 32nd.
“That’s just about the way the year has gone,” LaJoie said. “We have a good car and I find a way to flip it upside down. Twice this year we’ve been upside down and I haven’t been upside down in my whole career. That’s just how, unfortunately, the year for our (No.) 7 team’s been. We’ve had speed, just haven’t been able to put it together.”