Getty Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports
The offseason for Spire Motorsports was full of positivity. The organization purchased a NASCAR charter from Live Fast Motorsports and expanded to a three-car operation. They made a pair of high-profile hires in Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith. With veteran Corey LaJoie returning, it was shaping up to be another year of improvement.
LaJoie has had a strong start to the season, running up front at Daytona and Atlanta. Those were both drafting tracks, but the next race at Las Vegas on March 3 was going to paint the picture for a lot of teams in the garage. Big teams have traditionally dominated the 1.5-mile circuits, but Spire was hanging with the big boys most of the afternoon.
After finishing seventh and 11th in the first two stages at Vegas, LaJoie had a little trouble in the final stage. That came while racing an aggressive Hocevar, he said after the race. “Got plugged in the fence by our teammate, so it drove like [expletive] after that and wrecked itself.”
Corey LaJoie described Sunday as his “best day at the track ever.” He and teammate Carson Hocevar ran inside the top-15 much of the day.
However, LaJoie also said he wasn’t happy with how his teammate raced him. #Pennzoil400 | #NASCAR
When asked if he would talk to Hocevar about the incident, LaJoie said, “We’ll see.” LaJoie doubled-down on the situation during his “Stacking Pennies” podcast (30:01 mark) on March 5.
Hocevar was a guest on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on March 5 and revealed that the two of them have talked internally.
“More than anything, it was something that we had to talk about internally,” Hocevar said. “We had that conversation quickly and painless but wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. We talked separately, and then as a team, on how we’re going to race in the future. How we can be better and make it easier on each other. We need to be able to race each other competitively, but also with respect.”
Carson Hocevar Talented but Aggressive
Hocevar has drawn the ire of several other drivers since joining the Cup series on a limited basis with Legacy Motor Club last season. His aggressive driving style is what caught the attention of Spire, and they surely will not want him to dial it down. The Ross Chastain situation at Trackhouse might a perfect example of what not to do.
Ironically enough, it was LaJoie’s own crew chief and director of competition, Ryan Sparks, that referred to Hocevar as a “generational talent” in a preseason interview.
“I think Carson Hocevar is a generational talent,” Sparks told NBC Sports in January. “People just haven’t really seen it yet. When he drove the seven car at Gateway — we ended up having a brake failure — but he went from 26th to top 15 in the first stage. Just stuff that doesn’t typically happen.”
Despite the incident with LaJoie, Hocevar was quick and went on to finish 15th at Vegas. The rookie comes into the series with a reputation from the Trucks series, where he made several questionable choices on the track. Carson may not be ready to contend for race wins, but he will certainly provide entertainment.
Spire Winning With Kyle Busch, Rajah Caruth
Spire has had a hot start across multiple series. They purchased Kyle Busch Motorsports in the offseason and have already won two Truck races. Busch won at Atlanta and Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag at Vegas. It was a historic win for Rajah as he earned his first career victory and became just the third African-American to win in NASCAR’s top three series.
In the three races so far this season, Caruth finished 3rd at Daytona, 8th at Atlanta, and won from pole position after leading 38 laps at Vegas. The momentum is real – so much so that Hendrickcars.com extended their sponsorship from 10 races, to the full season.
There is clearly speed at Spire this year. This organization is primed for a major step up in terms of results. Chevrolet has given them more access to help with performance, and they are taking advantage of it. The equipment is better and the cars are faster, but the drivers need to keep a level head in order for this team to truly blossom.