Back in February, Corey LaJoie sparked a firestorm within the NASCAR world with a few offhand remarks that many say showed clear disrespect to the lower-tier series. On the back end of a tough offseason, LaJoie was asked if he’d consider driving in the Truck or Xfinity Series. His response, flippant and raw, hit a nerve. “Do you wanna go pump the ego up and hold a trophy on a Friday when there’s 12 people in the grandstands? No, I wanna compete against the best…,” he said.

The line wasn’t just dismissive, it disrespected hundreds of drivers and thousands of fans who follow the lower-tier series religiously. The backlash was swift. Fans called him arrogant. Drivers saw it as a slight. In a sport built on climbing the ladder, LaJoie kicked at the rungs. He was already walking a thin lin

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