Several weeks in a row, NASCAR has been forced to activate the rulebook due to behavioral actions. This week, an incident between Corey LaJoie and Kyle Busch was on the radar of the sanction.
Carson Hocevar was fined $50,000 after the race at Nashville Superspeedway. He spun Harrison Burton under caution during the race.
The following week, Bubba Wallace retaliated on Alex Bowman after the finish in the Chicago Street Course. NASCAR issued another $50,000 fine for the incident.
Bubba Wallace fined $50,000
On Sunday at Pocono Raceway, Corey LaJoie and Kyle Busch were in a battle on the restart. Busch blocked once then he was hooked in the left rear. The incident was up to judgement on whether it was on purpose.
No. 7 Team (Crew Radio): “Yeah, I ain’t worried about him. It’s all about us. Yeah, you let him have it the first time. The second time, he got what he deserved. All good.”
Would the penalty trends continue?
Corey LaJoie hooks Kyle Busch at Pocono Raceway (Video)
Brad Moran comments
Brad Moran is the managing director for the NASCAR Cup Series.
“We believe it was good hard racing,” Brad Moran stated Tuesday morning via Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
“It got some folks attention. We reviewed it. We looked at it a few times during the race.”
“We’ll do a good debrief on it. We’ll have all the footage, the audio, the SMT.”
“As of right now, it was hard racing. A couple of guys not giving each other enough room. Sitting here right now, I don’t believe it was intentional. But, well go though and do our due diligence to make sure that is correct.”
Elton Sawyer comments
“We’re in-race,” Sawyer told NBC Sports. “We’re in competition. We got two guys racing hard.”
“You listen to the in-car audio on (LaJoie’s radio), you don’t hear anything from the driver. There’s some comments made by the crew chief and spotter, neither one of them is driving the car.”
“So, didn’t hear anything from (the driver). Plan to have a conversation with Corey just to make sure he’s in a good place there. But yeah, that one, we let the guys race.”
On Wednesday, NASCAR made the decision not to penalize Corey LaJoie.
Corey LaJoie comments on the incident
“I wish I had done an interview with some replays, before I said anything,” Corey LaJoie stated via the Stacking Pennies podcast.
“I probably am more, I don’t know if remorseful is the right word. But I do feel bad, even for Kyle.”
“I can tell you it wasn’t intentional. But, the amount of time the No. 8 was in the chip there, was like 50 yards.”
“I was planning on trying to bend back behind him. At the same time, he was in the chip. I didn’t anticipate his car losing that momentum, relative to mine.”
“I spun him out and took out several cars behind me. Which I do feel bad about.”
LaJoie reacts to the brief comment from Kyle Busch
When Kyle Busch was asked if he needed to have a conversation with LaJoie he only stated, “Nah.”
That has LaJoie reading between the lines, “That makes me a little nervous that I might have to pull my belts a little bit tighter. Let me make sure my headrest foam, the gaps are a little bit tightened up.”
“You know he’s thinking something vastly different than what he’s saying. I texted him. Maybe I should call him. Maybe I should send him flowers, I don’t know.”
“I am going to have my eyes peeled out, in case someone is holding Richard Childress’ watch.”
LaJoie added, “I do feel like a conversation is warranted. I do feel worse about it on Monday than I did on Sunday night. I’ll take some blame there.”
Pocono Results: July 14, 2024 (NASCAR Cup Series)
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Corey LaJoie | Kyle Busch | Pocono Raceway | NASCAR
