Corey LaJoie has expressed regret about the offseason comments he made regarding the number of fans in the stands for Truck Series races.
Before the season, LaJoie told Fox Sports that some drivers who chose to step down from the Cup Series to try to win races ultimately stayed in a lower series. He said they became "lifelong Truck guys and that they didn't get to race on Sundays again.
"Do you wanna go pump the ego up and hold a trophy on a Friday when there's 12 people in the grandstands," LaJoie asked at the time. As expected, these comments caused some backlash.
"I've said a lot of dumb things on camera, so that was just another one," LaJoie explained Friday at Michigan. "So just to clear context up for everybody, I said that on the morning of a five-day fast.
"I wish I wouldn't have added that 12 (fans) comment bit because then people within the Truck garage took offense to it. There's so many things that it came out of, and it's such a negative light for just a couple comments that I said when I was hangry."
The reason these comments resurfaced is a deal LaJoie just signed. He returned to Spire Motorsports to run nine Truck Series races, starting Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. He added this to a part-time Cup schedule with Rick Ware Racing.
This deal puts LaJoie in the truck on Fridays and Saturdays, so he will race in front of fewer fans than he has in previous seasons while racing full-time in the Cup Series. It will still be more than 12.
However, he said he had no hesitation before signing this deal with his former team. He recognized that thousands of kids want this exact opportunity to compete.
"I'm going to take it seriously. This is my shot, and l've been making a living at this for 10 years," LaJoie said.
"But I don't want to just be an also-ran and not take it seriously and be in the way for somebody who might deserve it more than I do. So I take all that into consideration. I'm gonna try all I've got."