NASCAR
NASCAR Suspends Elliott One Race, Corey Lajoie Named Fill-in
CONCORD, N.C. – After NASCAR determined he intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin at Charlotte, Chase Elliott has been suspended one race. Driving the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet at Gateway this weekend in Elliott’s place will be Corey Lajoie.
Elliott’s suspension mirrors that of Bubba Wallace for a similar infraction last October in Las Vegas. That day, Wallace was ran wide by Kyle Larson, and chose to right-rear hook him into the frontstretch wall. In Monday’s Coca-Cola 600, a near carbon copy series of events took place between Hamlin and Elliott.
NASCAR deemed that Elliott broke rulebook Sections 4.3.A; 4.4.C & E. These portions of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct refer to “Intentionally wrecking or spinning another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result.” These guidelines are exactly what Wallace broke last fall.
As a result of Elliott being suspended, Corey Lajoie will compete for Hendrick in the Napa No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Lajoie vacates the Spire Motorsports No. 7, which will be driven in his place by Carson Hocevar. The 20-year-old Truck Series driver will be making his Cup Series debut this weekend.
Hendrick Motorsports said in a statement that they “understand NASCAR’s need to maintain consistency in its officiating. The penalty will not be appealed, and we will submit a formal request for a Playoff waiver.”
Already having missed six races, Elliott currently sits 29th in points, 81 markers behind the top-16 Playoff cut line. Lajoie meanwhile is now 20th in the standings, only 38 points out of the cut. So far in 2023, Lajoie does have one top-five (fourth in Atlanta) and a career-best 19.1 average finish. Should Lajoie have a solid finish with the No. 9 team at Gateway, it could put him on the precipice of his first-ever Playoff appearance.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter
Photos by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR and Peter Stratta/TSJSports
