"Kyle Bush to replace him?" - NASCAR fans react to Corey LaJoie's exit from Spire Motorsports

Corey LaJoie won’t return to Spire Motorsports for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. The confirmation of this news had a lot of fans reacting on social media, with some speculating that Kyle Busch might take LaJoie's spot.

Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, has been with Spire for four years. The 32-year-old also drives part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. His father, Randy LaJoie, is a two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion.

LaJoie joined Spire Motorsports in 2021. Previously, he raced for BK Racing, TriStar Motorsports, and Go Fas Racing. Corey has had notable finishes, including a career-best 25th in points in 2023. LaJoie confirmed the news on Thursday.

The same was shared by NASCAR on their X handle:

"@CoreyLaJoie will not return to the No. 7 car in 2025."

Fans online have had mixed reactions to the announcement. Some are excited and happy.

“Kyle Busch to replace him?. Lol,” a fan jokingly remarked.

"Best news of the season. WAR IS OVER!" another fan wrote.

“It’s like when you finally killed that bug that’s been flying around your room all night,” another tweeted.

Some fans wondered about LaJoie’s next move and wrote,

"Hocevar made him look really bad…" a fan said.

"This explains the driving lately. Frustrated. Over aggressive at times. Where does he go?" asked another.

Corey LaJoie has had four top-five finishes and six top-10s in 129 races during his time with Spire Motorsports. The 2023 season, where he finished 25th in the standings with a 20.8 average finish, was his best. His best finishes were fourth place in Atlanta, Talladega, and Daytona.

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Corey LaJoie on his exit from Spire Motorsports

LaJoie is currently 28th in points with four races left this season. He opened up about leaving the team in a recent statement (via "The Athletic"):

“I take a lot of satisfaction from having an integral part of building Spire into a respectable team on the grid, but unfortunately the future won’t involve me. We will finish the remainder of 2024 strong, continuing to deliver for my partners, my guys who work hard to build good cars, family, fans and friends who have supported me since day one in the Cup Series,” LaJoie said.

"This chapter ends after Phoenix, and I’m excited to see what the Lord has in store for my family next," he added.

Spire Motorsports is making big changes for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series. The team also announced recently that Rodney Childers, a championship-winning crew chief, will join the No. 7 team. Childers is well known for leading Kevin Harvick to the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series championship and is expected to bring valuable experience to the team. Additionally, Michael McDowell will drive the No. 71 car next season.

The team's current competition director, Ryan Sparks, who is also the crew chief for Corey LaJoie, will become the full-time competition director next year.