There’s certainly no love lost between Corey LaJoie and Austin Cindric following the finish to Monday’s 66th running of the Daytona 500.
LaJoie appeared to create the initial contact which sent Cindric into Ross Chastain, resulting in a last-lap caution. Cindric expressed his frustration with LaJoie after the race.
“Corey finished 4th, so congrats,” Cindric said. “He tried to fit a car where there wasn’t a car and just continued to push through my left rear until I wrecked.”
LaJoie didn’t seem to care one bit.
“The 2 left the bottom open,” LaJoie said, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “I tried to fill it kinda lazily, he kinda blocked it lazily. The 16 went with me and he kinda turned off our nose. The 1 called it quick to try to fill that bottom and try to get out front. He then took the move he did to try to win the race and it didn’t work out for him. I’m glad that we came out of the other side.”
LaJoie added of Cindric’s criticism: “It’s the last lap. I’ve seen him do a lot of dumb things, too, and we’re not friends.”
Corey LaJoie comes away with quality finish in Daytona 500
No, they are not and there’s no denying now they are adversaries. LaJoie walked away with a fourth-place finish, while Cindric finished 22nd. Neither finished first; That spot went to William Byron, whose No. 24 Chevrolet steered clear of the action.
The win is a record-tying ninth for Hendrick Motorsports in the Daytona 500 and the race team’s first since 2014 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. raced his way to victory lane in the No. 88 Chevrolet. Byron only led four laps all race long, but it was the final four laps, the four most important laps, after coming out unscathed in a pair of big wrecks within the final 10 laps.
“I have so many emotions … So proud of this team,” Byron said after the race. “Extremely blessed and thankful for the opportunity. We have a lot to prove this year, and this is a good start.”
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