Despite finishing in P4 during the 2024 Daytona 500, Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie was not too happy with the moves of Team Penske's Austin Cindric during the final few laps of the iconic race.
The 500-mile-long event at the 2.5-mile-long tri-oval saw LaJoie trying to attack the #2 Ford Mustang driver leading the field on the inside lane when Cindric was seen blocking the #7 Chevrolet Camaro driver. This caused Austin Cindric to somewhat get loose before Ross Chastain was seen going three wide in the middle from the outside lane, ultimately causing Cindric to spin out.
Despite Austin Cindric spinning out due to a multitude of consecutive events, Corey LaJoie touted Cindric's driving as "dumb". In an interview with Bob Pockrass, he said:
"The #2 left the bottom open, I tried to fill it kind of lazily, he kind of blocked it lazily. It's the last lap, I've seen him do a lot of dumb things too and we're not friends so that's that."
Ultimately, Corey LaJoie managed to finish the 2024 Daytona 500 in P4 despite battling Austin Cindric and Ross Chastain on the final laps. The other two drivers did not fare as well and finished in P22 and P21 positions respectively.
Corey LaJoie on his top 5 finish during 2024 Daytona 500
Managing to finish in the top 5 with a P4 finish for Spire Motorsports, Corey LaJoie and the #7 crew had a reason to celebrate on Monday. The team and driver combination of Spire and LaJoie have not been frontrunners in the NASCAR Cup Series, to say the least.
Therefore, coming close to having a shot at winning and ending the day with a top 5 finish during the season's biggest event is no small feat for the team. The #7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver elaborated on the same in an interview with frontstretch.com and said:
'It's a hell of a payday, It's a hell of a points day for our team to start the year. We can put a clean car in the box, and we're getting a little bit closer. Super happy for Spire motorsports as a team."
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia next weekend for the Ambetter Health 400.