2 months agoCorey LaJoie will compete in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway as one of the three open entries to make it into the race. LaJoie will start the race in the 35th position, which will be his lowest since the track was reconfigured in 2022. In six starts at Atlanta since 2022, LaJoie has four top-20 finishes, including two in the top five. The No. 01 Ford driver collected positive place differential at the Georgia track five times in the last six Cup events. In last week's Daytona 500, LaJoie led 10 laps before landing a finish of 21st. LaJoie's starting position provides great upside, and with his favorable recent Atlanta history and Rick Ware Racing equipment, LaJoie is a top bargain DFS value pick worth consideration for all formats.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2 months agoAlthough Corey LaJoie became the butt of jokes after a string of crashes last summer, he is actually quite serviceable at Daytona, especially in the Daytona 500. He has never crashed out of this race in eight previous starts and his average finish of 10.2 over the last five Daytona 500s is actually the best in the field. Furthermore, the Rick Ware Racing cars have generally done an excellent job of avoiding wrecks at Daytona, as 7 of RWR's 11 top tens have come there. Even though he is inexpensive on DFS at $5,700, the fact that he is starting 12th means the number of points he can gain relative to other drivers is limited and he is probably not worth considering there. Since it is Ware, betting on him for the win at 70-1 likely isn't a good value either, but he is possibly a good bet for a top ten at +260.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
5 months agoCorey LaJoie will start 20th for this week's NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway, setting a new career-best qualifying result in his Cup career to date. In 14 races in his Cup career at Phoenix, LaJoie has one top-20 finish and nabbed positive Place Differential six times. Through 35 races this year, while splitting time between Spire Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing, LaJoie has 14 top-20 finishes and an average finish of 23.5. In practice, LaJoie ranked 16th in overall lap averages, 23rd in five consecutive lap averages, and 26th in 10 consecutive lap averages. LaJoie's Phoenix history is unfavorable, and with his practice speeds indicating a finish outside of the Top 20, he is not a driver to rely on for DFS this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
6 months agoCorey LaJoie first attracted serious attention when he feuded with Denny Hamlin in the spring of 2020 and argued that he would outrun Hamlin in his No. 11 car before proceeding to outrun him in the next race at Martinsville, widely regarded to be Hamlin's best track. Now that the entire fanbase has turned against LaJoie four years later, he now looks to restore his cred. Because of his poor finish last week at Las Vegas, he drew a bad qualifying draw, which resulted in a 34th-place starting position but he was unexpectedly very fast in practice, posting the second-fastest time and having the fourth fastest average lap time in practice. Although he has never bettered his 18th place finish on that day in 2020, his speed suggests he may deliver his best finish at the track - if he stays out of trouble.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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