In one of the most interesting moves of the short track off-season, Corey LaJoie has been tabbed as the driver of the No. 15 Rob Fuller Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for seven events this season.
The 23-year-old is no stranger to Tour Modified competition having made six previous starts between the Whelen Modified Tour and Whelen Southern Modified Tour, winning a race on the Atlanta Motor Speedway quarter-mile back in 2010.
Lajoie, the son of two-time XFINITY Series champion Randy, is also a five-race winner in the K&N Pro Series East and ARCA Racing Series and translated that success to sporadic appearances in the Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Truck Series.
“I really like modified racing because it seems like the harder you drive the faster you go,” LaJoie said in a team release. “Racing in the higher levels, such as Nationwide and Cup Series, in those cars you’re kind of stuck with what you’ve got.
“In modifieds you can move around and find some speed – especially at short track racing. I’m excited to do that. It puts the racing in the driver’s hands.”
LaJoie is filling the seat vacated by Todd Szegedy, the 2003 Modified Tour Champion, who moved on to a full-time ride this season with Bob Garbarino and Mystic Missile Racing. Lajoie will also take a more hand-on approach with Fuller’s LFR Chassis company, driving their house Super Late Model at a number of signature events in 2015.
Lajoie finished 13th in the LFR house car in the Snowball Derby in December.
“Corey is a talented race car driver that has been involved in other areas of our organization as well,” Fuller said. “He took the time to attend the Race Season Kick Off Party and met some of the team at 15-40 Connection, before Todd made his announcement, and it means a lot to me personally when a driver really shows interest in what we have going on internally and takes the time to support our cause.”
The LaJoie family are no strangers to modified competition.
Don LaJoie, Corey’s grandfather, is in the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame and is a five-time track champion at Danbury Speedway. Randy followed his footsteps before moving south to compete in NASCAR national touring.
Now Corey will follow in that tradition.
“This role really suits me right now,” LaJoie said. “At the higher levels, you’re really relying on other people’s money instead of your driving ability. I’m excited to get back to short tracks, modifieds and supers.
“This year, I’ll be racing a handful of tracks I’ve always wanted to race at, but just haven’t yet.”
Szegedy posted two top-10s and a top-5 in his five starts with Fuller last season.
