"I was nervous when I gave it to him": When Corey LaJoie made a personal pitch to Rick Hendrick for Jimmie Johnson's ride

With Jimmie Johnson making the decision to step away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition after 2020, that left the famed #48 Hendrick Motorsports ride available. One who threw his name in the hat for potential candidates to drive the car was Corey LaJoie.

Amid his second season behind the wheel of the #32 Go Fas Racing machine in 2020, LaJoie struggled to mount many quality results and wasn't getting the recognition that would land him a big-time Cup ride. Therefore, the North Carolina native knew he had to think outside the box and try to make an impression on the sport's best teams.

In an attempt to land the #48 ride for 2021, LaJoie wrote champion car owner Rick Hendrick a hand-written letter expressing his interest in driving for him.

“I have nice cursive handwriting, so I figured why don’t I just pen this guy a letter. I don’t think that I should be necessarily the leading candidate, but I would like to think I’d be on the list because just the experience and all the stuff I’ve gained by doing it the hard way. I think I can kind of fit in their mold pretty well,” Corey LaJoie in an article by NASCAR.com in February 2020.

LaJoie went on to admit he was anxious to give Hendrick the letter as he knew driving for HMS would be huge for not only his racing career, but him and his family's life. He added:

“I was nervous when I gave it to him, because that guy could change my life and my family’s life forever. That’s why I spent extra time. I started writing it around Christmas and finally got it nailed down. I had a couple of rough drafts that my wife scratched up for me. It reminded me how English was my least favorite subject in school.”

Unfortunately for Corey LaJoie, the nice gesture wouldn't be enough to put him in an HMS car. Ahead of the 2021 season, Kyle Larson signed with HMS to drive the team's fourth full-time Cup ride. Larson took over the #5 machine while Alex Bowman switched from #88 to #48. LaJoie, however, competed in one Cup Series race for HMS in 2023, filling in for the suspended Chase Elliott in the #9 machine.

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Corey LaJoie currently races part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series

While Corey LaJoie didn't end up going to Hendrick Motorsports, he's continued to race in the NASCAR Cup Series ever since. He last drove full-time in 2024 for Spire Motorsports, but now drives the #01 Ford for Rick Ware Racing on a part-time basis.

LaJoie spent nearly four seasons with Spire Motorsports and wheeled the #7 car to a best points finish of 25th in 2023.

Towards the end of last season, LaJoie was part of a driver trade with Justin Haley, where he moved from the #7 car to the #51 RWR machine for the remainder of the year.