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NASCAR fans reacted to Todd Gilliland's in-car footage that showed how he avoided running into Corey LaJoie during Saturday's (August 24) Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. Gilliland's spotter was prompt to notify the Front Row Motorsports drivers of LaJoie, who appeared to be coming out of the pit road at the time.
LaJoie is driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports in his third season. He is the son of two-time Xfinity Series champion Randy LaJoie and the grandson of Don LaJoie, a member of the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
Right when Gilliland was running alongside RFK Racing's Chris Buescher while tailing Christopher Bell's No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota, his spotter asked him to avoid the lowest lane and radioed:
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"One up bottom! One up bottom!"
The two-time ARCA Series East champion veered slightly to the right and avoided a potential collision.
Below is Todd Gilliland's in-car video that captured the close call between him and Corey LaJoie:
Several fans felt LaJoie could have caused a big wreck and lashed out at the Charlotte native. One of them said LaJoie should be immediately released from duty.
"He needs to be fired Monday. Not wait til the end of the season, Monday. Corey will be the sole reason someone is knocked out of the playoffs, put money on it," the fan wrote.
"What the f***k is he doing. Seriously this guy should not be near a cup car," another fan said.
Here are some other reactions to LaJoie's Daytona moment:
"Corey should be suspended or something! Tired of this guy," a fan said.
"Dude tried to Lepage the field!," said another.
"He about stacked billons in damages right there," someone wrote.
LaJoie, meanwhile, got involved in a massive wreck on lap 61 while battling Noah Gragson of Stewart-Haas Racing for an upper hand inside the top 15.
Corey LaJoie's 'big one' at Daytona International Speedway
As LaJoie and Gragson raced each other, the former nudged Gragson's No. 10 Mustang, which rammed straight into the outside wall. In an attempt to revive from the wreck, Gragson drove across the track but found himself in front of LaJoie's bumper.
The incident derailed 17 drivers in all, ousting the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain, and Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon from contention.
The likes of Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, William Byron, Daniel Hemric, Ryan Preece, John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, and Alex Bowman were able to survive the crash and continue racing till the finishing line.
Corey LaJoie was also able to complete the race and ended up 34th. With one race to go till the postseason, he sits 32nd in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 335 points to his name. LaJoie has amassed one top-5 and one top-10 so far this season.
