In this week’s edition of Flashback Friday, we relieve Corey LaJoie’s 2016 K&N Pro Series East win from New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Corey LaJoie hadn’t found victory lane in the K&N Pro Series East since winning five times during the 2012 season.
However, that wait would come to an end when the series visited The Magic Mile of NHMS on July 16, 2016 for the United Site Services 70.
Piloting the No. 41 CarQuest Auto Parts Chevrolet for Ranier Racing with MDM, LaJoie started the event in second alongside teammate Kyle Benjamin.
He would go on to dominate the final portion of the race, taking the lead from Benjamin on lap 39 of the scheduled 72 laps.
The race would come down to a green-white checkered finish.
A young LaJoie was able to drive away from the field and hold off a hard-charging Todd Gilliland and Justin Haley.
The win was LaJoie’s sixth overall in the series, and first at New Hampshire.
LaJoie’s win at The Magic Mile came twenty-years to the week that his father, two-time NASCAR Busch Series Champion, Randy LaJoie won at the track as well.
A race won when LaJoie was just four years old.
Victory lane at New Hampshire was long overdue for LaJoie who came close to winning on a couple different occasions in past years.
“Expectations are high when you come here”, LaJoie said.
“I’ve lost a couple here at New Hampshire. I lost one to Larson here in 2012. I lost one wrecking with the leader coming for the checkered a couple years before that. I wasn’t going to let this one get away.”
Career Update:
Corey LaJoie, now 27 currently drives the No. 32 Ford Mustang for Go Fas Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series having made the move from Tri-Star Motorsports following the 2018 season.
LaJoie is coming off a career best finish of sixth in last weekend’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 from Daytona International Speedway.
Thus far in 2019, he has earned 1 top-10, 2 top-15s, and four top-20s.
He currently sits 29th in the driver standings heading into Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 from NHMS.