Corey Lajoie is running some NASCAR Truck races to validate convictions

Corey Lajoie is going to go race in front of 12 people on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway and he’s doing it for his ex-girlfriend of all people.

There’s a lot of analogies here so let’s break them down one-by-one.

Lajoie is going to make nine starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series out of the 13 that still remains in the schedule. He will do so for Spire Motorsports, the organization that effectively fired him last year despite having over a year remaining on his contract.

Now, Lajoie is a part-time Cup Series driver for Rick Ware Racing and is in the middle of a five-week stretch in which he serves as a television analyst for Amazon’s Prime Sports Cup Series broadcasts. And working for his old bosses gave him one of the analogies.

“Here's my analogy: It's like when you work on building a house for five years and your wife becomes a TikTok star and says she's not happy anymore. She kicks you out and then she calls you back a year later and you have to go live in the guest room and she's there with a new boyfriend. That's how this thing goes.”

Lajoie says he still has ‘a lot of respect for Bill Anthony and Jeff Dickerson,’ the brain trust at Spire and that the No. 07 truck is amongst the best on the grid, and he recognized an opportunity to win races and make headlines.

“I don't really have any outcome that's desirable besides just to win and let everything else play out for itself,” Lajoie said. “I really like the pace of life right now with my three boys all under five, and getting to spend time at home with them doing the TV stuff, it’s been a blast.

“And you know, it’s got to be the right group to go to war with because it does take everything you have each and every week if you want to go be competitive. So, I’m willing to do that. I told the wife, and told everyone, like if I’m doing this, you’re going to get all I got every week for nine weeks so I’m excited to jump in and see what we could do.”

The other Lajoie analogy was made in February before the Daytona 500 when he offered that he turned down several Truck Series full-time offers, including the one for Bill McAnally that Daniel Hemric has in championship contention, because he didn’t want to ‘race in front of 12 people.’

This counts as a walk-back, right?

 "I've said a lot of dumb things on camera," Lajoie said. "That was just another one. I said that on the morning of a five-day fast. That day, I wasn't in the mood to play around. I wish I wouldn't have added that 12 (fans) comment because people within the Truck garage take offense to it.

"There was so many things that came out of it and it’s such a negative light for just a couple of comments I made when I was hangry."

How Lajoie really meant it, and what he wishes he could have said with more clarity, is that he just wants to be a Cup Series driver because that’s what he has worked towards his whole life.

"There was no hesitation me coming back to run," Lajoie said. "I try to race as much as I can and there are hundreds if not thousands of kids that would love this nine-race opportunity and that’s not remiss on me. I’m going take it that serious.

“Like, this is my shot, and I’ve been making a living at this for 10 years. I just also don’t want to be an also-ran and not take it seriously and be in the way for someone who might deserve it more than I do. So I take all that in consideration. I’m going to give it all I’ve got.

“My perception of myself, my only focus in my entire life, was to be a Cup Series driver. That’s all I worked for since I was 12-year-old. So that was my mindset and I was hungry.”

And it isn’t like Lajoie hasn’t run some Tour Type Modified and Late Model Stock races this spring. He wasn’t concerned about the grandstands then. It was just, as he said, poor word choice.

Lajoie doesn’t have a win yet across all three NASCAR national tours and that’s what this specific opportunity is about. He also reveals that Wood Brothers inquired about his availability, and ‘another opportunity that was pretty good,’ because Dickerson told them there was a long-term vision at Spire.

He didn’t bring it up as sour grapes but just how ‘weird’ life can be with ‘with the life choices’ and we never know what an opportunity like this could lead to.

“I’m just looking, for myself, to win a national race,” Lajoie said. “I’ve been pretty close on the biggest stages a couple of times but at the end of the day, your perception within the garage as a winner is different than someone who finishes second.

“So in short order, I want to win a couple of races and just prove to myself what I’ve already known, but to prove it to everyone else that’s had faith in me along the way that they were right,” Lajoie said. “That’s objective one. I’m not even thinking about objective two.”

Which is next year.

“Its just, the right opportunity has to unfold. If it doesn’t, then you don’t take it. But the right deal will come about if you go and do your job and execute and see whatever the future holds. The more that I try to control, I’ve learned this after doing it for like 10-12 years, the worse it goes.”