Corey Lajoie Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Every year, the underdog teams of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circle the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega as their chances to finish in the top-10 or contend for a race win, and Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 was yet another example of those tracks serving as the great equalizer. Along with Michael McDowell finishing fourth, two other underdog teams, Front Row Motorsports (David Ragan) and Beard Motorsports (Brendan Gaughan), brought home top-10 finishes, with their respective sixth and seventh place finishesRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway was filled with impressive runs for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. All four of the ROTY contenders have had experience at the 2.5-mile restrictor plate track. Erik Jones finished in ninth in the No. 77 Sport Clips Toyota Camry after a late spin sent him outside the Top 20. In the short run after the spin, Jones somehow made his way through the chaos that isRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway was a struggle for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the four official ROTY contenders, Corey LaJoie is the only driver with no experience at the 2-mile track. Erik Jones once again had the best starting spot among the ROTY contenders, placing his No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota Camry 14th on the starting grid. Jones slowly worked his way inside the Top 10. However,Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway was relatively quiet for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five official ROTY contenders, both BK Racing drivers, Corey LaJoie and Gray Gaulding, have no experience at the 2.5-mile ‘Tricky Triangle.’ Erik Jones started 15th in his No. 77 GameStop / Cars 3 – Driven to Win Toyota Camry. Jones’ Furniture Row Racing team elected to pit late in the stage, allowing Jones to lead 17 laps.Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was relatively quiet for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five ROTY contenders only Gray Gaulding has no previous experience at Charlotte. Erik Jones started a career best fifth in his No. 77 5-Hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota Camry. Jones hit some of the debris that came off Jeffrey Earnhardt’s car, forcing him to pit for repairs on lap 22. Jones finished StageRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway was a battle against loose conditions for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Several found their cars to be so loose that it affected their position on track. Of the five ROTY contenders only Gray Gaulding has no previous experience at Kansas. Daniel Suarez qualified the best of the rookies once again, placing his No. 19 STANLEY Toyota Camry 15th on the starting grid. Suarez ran well often,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor “Talladega: World’s Fastest Junkyard,” quipped FOX Sports announcer Mike Joy after an 18-car crash broke out on the backstretch of the 2.66-mile superspeedway with 19 laps to go in Sunday’s GEICO 500. Couldn’t have summed it up any better. After a relatively quiet race by Talladega standards through the first 170 laps, the inevitable “Big One” was coming and when it came, it certainly was big. Coming off Turn 2, AJ Allmendinger, who was running third, made contact with the second-place driver, Chase Elliott, turningRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was an adventure for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Of the five ROTY contenders, two drivers, Corey LaJoie and Gray Gaulding, have no previous experience at Talladega. Gaulding has no previous experience at any restrictor plate track. Ty Dillon placed his No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS 28th on the starting grid. A caution midway through Stage 2 allowed Dillon to take an alternate strategy. he moved up toRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway was a mixed bag for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. All of the rookies have had previous experience at Richmond in other NASCAR Series. Two of the ROTY contenders ran relatively well, others fell short. Daniel Suarez had the best starting position of the five rookies, placing his No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry 11th on the starting grid. Early in the final stage, Suarez nearly hitRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Chase Elliott kicked off Speedweeks last Sunday by scoring his second consecutive Daytona 500 pole and the sophomore Hendrick Motorsports driver continued his hot streak on Thursday night by winning the first of the two Can-Am Duel races. “We had such a fast NAPA Chevy tonight. I didn’t think anyone was going to help us there at the first part of the race and I had a couple of good pushes to get us out front. Eddie did a great job on top of theRead More