“No room for any air to escape” - Kenny Wallace details reasons for Corey LaJoie going airborne at Michigan

Kenny Wallace has explained why Corey LaJoie's #7 Chevy went airborne after contact with Noah Gragson at the FireKeepers Casino 400. The incident occurred on Lap 135 when the Spire Motorsports driver was battling for 16th.

Despite roof flaps installed to prevent the car from flying, the #7 Chevy became airborne after drifting inwards, posing serious concerns about the NextGen car's aerodynamic profile. Moreover, before coming to a standstill on the infield grass, the North Carolina native's car flipped multiple times with him inside.

Wallace highlighted the "turtle shell bottom" design under the Gen-7 car as the culprit. Since the surface is smooth, not only did the air not dissipate, the #7 Chevy was pushed away from the surface of the 2-mile track.

Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), Wallace wrote:

"The reason the cars flip NOW of days is the turtle shell bottom. The sealed up SOLID surface gives no room for any air to escape. MAXIMUM LIFT. The roof flaps worked better on the old car because the bottom was a messy surface with air to bleed through..."

RSS Racing's Kyle Sieg had a similar incident during his Xfinity race at Michigan. His #28 Ford went airborne after getting wrecked out from the pack.

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Corey LaJoie reflects on his disastrous Michigan weekend

Corey LaJoie is in his final full-time Cup Series season for Spire Motorsports and his future is yet to be decided. With a solitary top 5 and top 10, the #7 driver is experiencing a lackluster 2024 season. However, LaJoie's odds of posting another top-10 finish were high as he was in the top 20 in the final lap of Stage 2.

However, in pursuit of making the most of his track position, he got wrecked out of his 24th Cup Series race and finished 32nd. With that, he also marked his second DNF of the season.

LaJoie experienced a similar fate at the Talladega Superspeedway. During the final lap crash there, his ride got collected and went sideways on to the wall before passing the checkered flag through sheer momentum. Though he completed the race after being clipped behind Carson Hocevar's #77 Chevy, his car compounds were facing the outside wall while Lajoie's side of the car was dragged along the surface.

After another incident where he was left upside-down, LaJoie voiced his displeasure. He said (via Bob Pockrass on X):

"I don't know if it was all arms of an angel or what it was, but that thing was up quick. Looking at the flags, that was into a headwind too, so maybe that. The liftoff speed I think was like 210mph with these cars. I don't know, I don't like to get upside down, I've done it twice this year."

While LaJoie succumbed to a DNF, his teammates Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar finished seventh and tenth, respectively.