“I do feel bad” - Corey LaJoie looks back on Kyle Busch incident at Pocono and what caused it

Corey LaJoie has voiced his regret after his involvement in an incident that ended Kyle Busch’s race at Pocono’s Turn 1. Despite asserting in post-race interviews that the collision wasn't a "bonehead move," various NASCAR insiders, including Bubba Wallace's spotter Freddie Kraft, suggested it appeared intentional.

During the event at Pocono Raceway, when Corey LaJoie’s Chevy made contact with the left rear of Kyle Busch’s car shortly after a restart, with 40 laps left in The Great American Getaway 400, it caused #8 car to spin out. The incident disrupted the race for several drivers in the tightly packed field that was going upto five and seven wide.

It led to Kyle Busch's early exit from the race, landing him a 32nd-place finish, while Corey LaJoie managed to claim the P19 spot. Reflecting on the situation, LaJoie later shared his thoughts on NASCAR's platform "X". He said:

"I do feel bad for... Even for Kyle. Like I wouldn't. Yeah, you don't want to wreck anybody’s day. Yeah. Randall Burnett, like, we're buddies, like... I don't. I don't want to wreck anybody's day. [...] I was planning on trying to kind of blend back behind him, but at the same time I was committed to kind of fill and get behind him is when he was in the chip.

"So the amount that he was in the chip, I didn't anticipate his car. Losing that momentum relative to mine. I spun them out to out several good parts behind me which I do feel bad about on Monday," he added.

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Bubba Wallace's spotter, Freddie Kraft, openly criticizes Corey LaJoie's actions at Pocono Raceway

Despite Corey LaJoie's assertions that his clash with Kyle Busch was accidental, Freddie Kraft, Bubba Wallace’s spotter, believes otherwise. On the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Kraft drew parallels between LaJoie's maneuver and a penalized incident of 'reckless driving' involving Layne Riggs and Stefan Parsons at Nashville Superspeedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Kraft argued:

"This guy just recklessly goes in there, wipes Kyle Busch out. [....] This guy drives in there, cleans him out, and wrecks six other guys for no reason. [...] You cannot turn a guy into one on a restart of Pocono, like, intentionally."

According to Kraft, the wreck was intentional. While he did mention that such acts deserve a penalty, later he stated that he doesn't want Corey LaJoie to get penalized.

While TJ Majors remained neutral, suggesting Corey LaJoie might have simply made a mistake by saying, "Maybe he did mess up," Freddie Kraft was firm in his assessment. He was convinced that LaJoie's actions appeared intentional.

Jeff Burton, observing from the broadcast booth, took issue with LaJoie's comments over the radio, where the latter claimed, "He [Kyle Busch] hooked himself."

Burton also noted that the triangular shape of the racetrack makes it a particularly bad spot to hook someone, especially heading into Turn 1 at high speeds.