After showing some speed in Las Vegas, many would’ve thought the relationship between Spire Motorsports teammates Corey LaJoie and Carson Hocevar is strong.
However, it looks as if there’s some fences to mend for the NASCAR Cup Series duo following the weekend in Sin City. After the race was over, LaJoie was visibly frustrated with Hocevar while speaking with the media.
Evidently, LaJoie took issue with the way Hocevar raced him at times during the trip to Las Vegas, and he believes his Spire teammate ruined what was shaping out to be an incredible day for the group.
“Got plugged in the fence by our teammate, so it drove like s--- after that and wrecked itself,” LaJoie said, blaming a late spin on damage that stemmed from racing against Hocevar on the track, via Jonathan Fjeld of The Racing Experts.
Alas, when there’s issues like that between two drivers from the same organization, you’ll usually have to have a meeting to hash things out. When asked whether he’d be speaking to Hocevar about the incident, LaJoie simply stated, “We’ll see.”
It’s easy to see LaJoie’s point of view on the matter. His No. 7 Chevrolet had some serious speed, something you can’t usually say about a car from Spire, especially on tracks like Las Vegas, but it seems as it their team has turned a serious corner.
“It was really good,” LaJoie said, regarding his car. “Best day we’ve had at the race track ever, so I’m encouraged by that.”
Hocevar put that speed to work as well, coming home P15 on the afternoon in Las Vegas. LaJoie wasn’t so fortunate after his spin, as he ended up P32 when the dust settled, so it’s not hard to see why there was some animosity between teammates after the race.
Moreover, this isn’t the first time Hocevar has been frustrating on the track in the Cup Series. Last season, while filling in for Legacy Motor Club, he irked a number of veterans on the track, even though he was able to secure some impressive results throughout his time with the team.
That attitude helped land him the gig with Spire. So while LaJoie may not be happy at the moment, we’re willing to bet his team doesn’t want him to stop racing the way he’s become known for, as it’s proven successful in the past.
Nevertheless, Corey LaJoie’s frustrations were warranted, but anything more than that between him and Carson Hocevar will likely be nipped in the bud by Spire, or at least it should be, as the team is showing some serious potential this season.
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