Despite signing a multi-year contract deal with Spire Motorsports last summer, Corey LaJoie will not return for a fifth season in the No. 7 Chevrolet in 2025.
LaJoie confirmed his departure to The Athletic, which was the first to disclose that the 2024 season would be his final season with his present squad.
The 32-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native joins Spire Motorsports as their first full-time driver in 2021, following his first two full seasons in the Cup Series with Go Fas Racing in 2019 and 2020.
Corey LaJoie is out at Spire Motorsports.
In 128 starts with the team, LaJoie has six top ten finishes, including four in the top five. His best finishes are all fourth-place finishes in superspeedway races, one each at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and Daytona International Speedway.
The 2023 season marked the first time LaJoie had a full-time teammate throughout his Cup Series career, and he finished a career-high 25th in the point standings, seven spots and roughly 250 points ahead of teammate Ty Dillon.
However, Spire Motorsports has expanded to three cars in 2024, and LaJoie is currently 28th in the point standings, five slots behind rookie teammate Carson Hocevar. He remains five ranks ahead of rookie teammate Zane Smith, but Smith just finished second at Nashville Superspeedway, indicating an improvement in form.
With four races remaining on the regular season schedule, LaJoie must win to guarantee his first career playoff berth this year. He is currently 228 points behind the playoff cut line.
The confirmation of LaJoie’s upcoming departure came after it was reported that Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Rodney Childers will join Spire Motorsports in 2025 following Stewart-Haas Racing’s closure, and he will do so from the pit box for the No. 7 team.
With LaJoie reportedly under contract until 2025, it was thought that he would continue to drive the No. 7 car, but it is now unclear who Childers’ first driver will be at his new squad.
Hocevar is likely to return to the squad for a second season in 2025, although without LaJoie, it is unclear which cars he and McDowell will drive. Despite LaJoie’s departure, Smith is expected to move elsewhere.
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