NASCAR’s Corey LaJoie: What to Know About the Driver of the ‘Trump 2020’ Car

Corey LaJoie was the talk of NASCAR this past weekend when fans noticed a decal that read “Trump 2020.” That was not a mistake as LaJoie’s team, Go Fas Racing announced a partnership with Patriots of America PAC to help promote President Donald Trump‘s reelection campaign. It has led to a ton of backlash, and LaJoie ended up limiting his interaction with fans on social media. And he’ll likely keep his social media private for a while as he will debut a new “Trump 2020” car this weekend and will have the car for nine races.

LaJoie has made a public statement on the decal, but many wondering if he’s happy with the decision. At the end of the day, Go Fas Racing, one of the smaller teams in the sport, will get paid $350,000 for the sponsorship. Also, LaJioe, 28, doesn’t have a lot of say since he’s one of the young drivers in the Cup Series. Last year was the first season he took part in a full-time schedule. Here’s what to know about LaJoie.

Son of NASCAR Legend

Corey LaJoie has racing in his blood as his father, Randy LaJoie, is a two-time winner of the NASCAR Busch Series (now the Xfinity Series). In his career, Randy LaJoie competed in 350 Busch Series races with 15 wins and 118 top 10 finishes.

NASCAR Debut

LaJoie made his NASCAR debut in 2013 when he competed in the Ford EcoBoost 300, which is an Xfinity Series race. He finished 33rd in the race, which was the final Xfinity Series race of the year. He only competed in 22 Xfinity Series races from 2013-2017 and posted two top-10 finishes. 

First Cup Series Race

The first Cup Series race for LaJoie came in 2014 when he competed in the Sylvania 300. He finished 41st place, and it was one of two Cup Series races LaJoie competed in that year. LaJoie also raced in five Xfinity Series events in 2014 with one top-20 finish.

First Daytona 500

LaJoie competed in his first Dayton 500 in 2017 as a member of BK Racing and it was a solid performance as he finished 24th. When Lajoie qualified for the race, he was met with some controversy as he nudged Reed Sorenson’s bumper which led to him wrecking the car and taking him out of the qualifying race, the Can-Am Duel.

Best Finish

In 2019, Lajoie had his best finish in a Cup Series race when he finished sixth in the Coke Zero Sugar 400. After the race, LaJoie said: “Sixth for us, no matter what the circumstance, is a good day. If you told me I could take a sixth-place finish before we even started I would have taken it to the bank and ran with it.”

Daytona 500 Ray Newman Crash

LaJoie was part of the Ryan Newman crash at the Daytona 500 this year. After Ryan Blaney nudged Newman, LaJoie collided with Newman, which caused a massive wreck of Newman’s car. After the race, LaJoie said: “My stomach dropped, and I thought I was going to puke.”

Trump 2020 Car

This is what LaJoie will drive for the next nine races. In a press release, LaJoie said: “With an estimated 75 million NASCAR fans out there, I was surprised that about 15 million of those fans are not registered voters. “I will give my best effort to get NASCAR fans registered to vote, through our team efforts on and off the track. When they see the car, hopefully it makes them race to the polls in November.”