By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
CONCORD, N.C. – Outside of Daytona and Talladega, Corey LaJoie scored a 12th place finish – his best of 2019 – at Charlotte Motor Speedway in his first year at Go Fas Racing.
LaJoie qualified in the No. 32 Superior Logistics Ford Mustang in the 30th position, but as attrition wore during the Coca-Cola 600, he worked his way to the front of the field. The main goal for LaJoie was to be there at the finish.
“We just tried to be there at the end by keeping all the fenders on it,” LaJoie said. “Sometimes you get lucky. A lot of guys had a bad day. We capitalized. We were straight. We finished 12th. Helluva day.”
Although he finished in the top-15, LaJoie was quick to recognize that the team still had speed for around 25th but knew if he put the Ford Mustang in the right position, he could make moves toward the front.
A 12th place finish for a team like Go Fas Racing is like a win with the budget it shows up and races with. According to LaJoie, a run like it had at Charlotte makes heads turn on the other side of the garage.
“Twelfth is like three wins for us,” he said. “Anytime we finish 22nd, we are slapping hands and smiling. Twelfth is an anomaly, but we will take. I am pretty pumped. This is the best I’ve ever ran at a mile-and-a-half by far.
“It goes to show the kind of cars Go Fas is putting on the race track. They belive in me as a driver. We are making a lot of guys on the other end of the garage pretty pissed when the 32 car drives around them.”
Despite “winning” with his finish, LaJoie recognizes that the momentum from Charlotte will end Thursday this week as the series heads to Pocono Raceway.
“We try and check all the boxes and do what we do every week,” he said. “We don’t expect to run 12th. We expect to run 25th if we do our jobs. We did our job today. We got some fortune. We had a late race restart and finished 12th.”