Bob Pockrass reveals Corey Lajoie’s ‘likely’ replacement as his Rick Ware Racing destiny hangs in the balance

NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie doesn’t have a full-time ride for the upcoming season yet. He was initially expected to drive the No. 51 car for Rick Ware Racing, but as journalist Bob Pockrass reported on X, the North Carolina-based outfit might have tabbed Cody Ware to pilot the Mustang.

LaJoie ran his last seven races in 2024 with RWR’s No. 51 entry. However, the 33-year-old could not deliver anything better than a P14 finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. Notably, there was a sudden mid-season swap with Justin Haley, who took over LaJoie’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports ride.

“Corey LaJoie is still working on his 2025 plans but not expected to be full time in the RWR No. 51 in 2025,” said Pockrass while answering a fan’s question. “Cody Ware appears to be the likely driver of that car.”

The No. 51 is the only chartered ride that Rick Ware Racing currently owns. RWR is leasing its second charter to RFK Racing, a soon-to-be three-car Cup Series outfit. Former Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Preece will pilot the No. 60 full-time for Brad Keselowski’s organization starting next season.

For now, it’s not clear whether LaJoie will run full-time in 2025. Almost all good seats in the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Truck Series have been taken. This leaves the 33-year-old driver in quite a precarious situation.

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Corey LaJoie reflects on the “welcomed challenge” following his split with Spire Motorsports

Corey LaJoie spent the last four seasons driving the No. 7 machine for Spire Motorsports. In over 129 starts at the Cup level, the Charlotte native amassed four top-5s and six top-10s. But he never won a race during his tenure with Spire.

The Chevy team, hence, parted ways with LaJoie ahead of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Reflecting on the same during a press release, Jeff Dickerson, owner of Spire Motorsports, said,

“Corey deserves a fresh look from another organization, too, and we’ll do everything we can to help him get another opportunity in the Cup garage. I believe in Corey and his ability to be successful in this sport and look forward to him using this as motivation to prove all his doubters wrong.”

However, LaJoie felt that exploring options for the future while executing races at a high level had been a challenge for sure. He took to X and wrote,

“Last couple of months have been an interesting and unique journey. Navigating conversations about my future in the sport while continuing to prepare and execute at a high level, as we've shown over the past month, has been a welcomed challenge.”

Meanwhile, NASCAR prepares to host its season-opening race at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2. Whether LaJoie will enter the race is uncertain. Nevertheless, fans can watch the event live on FOX or listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio from 8 pm ET onwards.