NASCAR: Insider Questions Big Corey LaJoie Wreck – ‘This Was Very Odd’

At Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie experienced a dramatic flip during a fight with Noah Gragson. Speaking on The Teardown podcast, commentators Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck delved into the peculiar nature of the incident, questioning the safety concerns behind it.

Bianchi was uneasy about the severity of the crash, noting that while incidents of cars getting airborne are concerning, they are not frequent enough to suggest a trend.

“Certainly concerning anytime a car gets airborne and has an incident like that it’s concerning. I guess this isn’t like a rash of cars flipping upside down like this that, which if you know it kind of helps a little bit.

“If this was happening on a regular then you’re like ‘Woah, wait a second,’ because there was a time period there 2015/2016 it’s like we were getting a lot of flips.”

Bianchi further explained the oddity of the situation:

“This was odd. This was very odd… It was a very odd incident. Concerning, yes, not alarming if that makes sense where I’m not like ‘Oh man, we need to address this today.’ I’ll say, NASCAR’s record on safety is very very good.

“In these incidents, they obviously are going to bring this car to the R&D Center, they’re going to evaluate it, they don’t want to see this.

“If there’s something that can be done to prevent it, they’re certainly going to take measures to do that.”

Gluck focused on the potential dangers such crashes pose not only to drivers but also to spectators.

“The danger obviously is you don’t want these going into the fence, you don’t want these going into the stands. I think he’s talking about rollover situations if a car just rolled over on the track, the drivers inside the cockpit are relatively secure from what we see,” Gluck observed.

Corey LaJoie shared his perspective in a post-crash interview with NBC Sports, reflecting on a challenging.

“That’s just about the way the year’s gone. You know, we have a good car, and I find a way to flip it upside down.

“Twice this year, we’ve been upside down, and I haven’t been upside down in my whole career. Unfortunately, that’s how the year for our No. 7 team. We’ve had speed, just haven’t been able to put it all together. But the No. 10 chopped me a couple of times, especially off (Turn 2) and I had a run, and I don’t know, I haven’t seen the replay yet.

“If he pulled it off the wall when I was trying to get his left rear. … It was a ride, buddy,” LaJoie recounted.

NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway Results

1. Tyler Reddick – 23XI Racing
2. William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports
3. Ty Gibbs – Joe Gibbs Racing
4. Kyle Busch – Richard Childress Racing
5. Brad Keselowski – RFK Racing
6. Chris Buescher – RFK Racing
7. Zane Smith – Spire Motorsports
8. Daniel Suárez – Trackhouse Racing
9. Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing
10. Carson Hocevar – Spire Motorsports
11. Ryan Preece – Stewart-Haas Racing
12. Noah Gragson – Stewart-Haas Racing
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr – JTG Daugherty Racing
14. Harrison Burton – Wood Brothers Racing
15. Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports
16. Erik Jones – Legacy Motor Club
17. Austin Dillon – Richard Childress Racing
18. Ryan Blaney – Team Penske
19. Michael McDowell – Front Row Motorsports
20. Justin Haley – Rick Ware Racing
21. Cody Ware – Rick Ware Racing
22. Josh Berry – Stewart-Haas Racing
23. Daniel Hemric – Kaulig Racing
24. Martin Truex Jr – Joe Gibbs Racing
25. Ross Chastain – Trackhouse Racing
26. Bubba Wallace – 23XI Racing
27. Alex Bowman – Hendrick Motorsports
28. Austin Cindric – Team Penske
29. John H. Nemechek – Legacy Motor Club
30. AJ Allmendinger – Kaulig Racing
31. Chase Briscoe – Stewart-Haas Racing – Suspended
32. Corey LaJoie – Spire Motorsports – DNF
33. Joey Logano – Team Penske – DNF
34. Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports – DNF
35. Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing – DNF
36. Todd Gilliland – Front Row Motorsports – DNF