Corey LaJoie has joined BK Racing to compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017. He will drive the team’s #83 Toyota Camry on a part-time basis.
The news was reported Monday. LaJoie, the son of two-time NASCAR Busch (now Xfinity) Series champion Randy, made his Cup debut in 2014, running two races at Loudon and Charlotte for Randy Humphrey Racing; he finished 41st and 35th, respectively. LaJoie recently competed in the Xfinity Series, driving part-time for JGL Racing in the #24 as a member of the team’s Young Guns program. In ten races in 2016, he recorded two top-10 finishes at Bristol and Dover. LaJoie’s races with BKR have not been released.
LaJoie started competing in NASCAR’s national series in 2013 when the Richard Petty Motorsports development driver drove for RPM part-time in the Nationwide Series. He ran a limited schedule in 2014 with Biagi-DenBeste Racing in addition to two Camping World Truck Series races for RBR Enterprises, recording a best finish of 10th at Bristol.
Prior to his career in the national series, LaJoie spent four years in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. He ran the full 2011 and 2012 seasons for his father, winning five races in the latter and finishing 2nd in points to Kyle Larson. He also raced in the ARCA Racing Series in 2013, winning three times.
BK’s #83 car was vacated by Matt DiBenedetto after the 2016 season. With Joey Gase replacing David Ragan part-time in the #23, 2017 will mark the first year since 2014 that the team had new drivers in both seats. The team has struggled with driver retention as they made yet another driver change for the 2017 season; both cars will also be split by various drivers instead of having at least one full-time driver, something the team has not experienced in its five-year history. However, both cars will be locked into all 36 races as they possess charters.
Other drivers in the #83 have not been announced.
Featured image courtesy of Tim Bradbury, Getty Images
