Corey LaJoie missed Rick Hendrick's phone call about replacing Chase Elliott

While the NASCAR world waited to hear about who would replace Chase Elliott this week, Corey LaJoie missed the phone call from Rick Hendrick. You wait years to get the biggest call of your life and then you end up sleeping through it and send Mr. H to voicemail. The NASCAR driver was able to correct his mistake, though.

Josh Berry couldn’t be the replacement. Everyone knew that. He has an Xfinity Series race in Portland that he has to attend. A lot of folks, maybe even Corey LaJoie, thought that he would get the call. The only thing is, you have to answer the phone!

Again, this ended up more of a funny story than anything of consequence. However, we’ve all been there. That one call or message you are waiting your whole career for and for a second, it appears that you have let it slip through your hands.

“Like a baby,” LaJoie said when asked how he was sleeping by Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “Because it’s weird man, the dream is like during the day right now. You get the call, I missed the call from Mr. Hendrick because he left me a voicemail.

“I woke up to it on Wednesday morning and told the wife ‘Honey I missed the call.’ Luckily he answered when I called him back on Wednesday morning. And since then it’s been drinking out of a firehose of information and preparation and just a level of perfection that those guys expect is really cool to see for the first three or four days leading up here to St. Louis.”

How is Corey LaJoie sleeping knowing he is getting a great opportunity to go into the Hendrick No. 9 car this weekend? He says he is sleeping well. pic.twitter.com/ypHtDm91II

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 3, 2023

This week could be major for Corey LaJoie. Josh Berry drove the No. 9 car to a P2 finish at Richmond. What can a Cup Series full-timer do with a big upgrade in the car, the pit crew, and everything else.

Corey LaJoie has big task ahead of him

For the Spire Motorsports team, this is a long time coming. You know that with how Corey LaJoie had been performing that he wouldn’t be in the 7 car forever. In fact, LaJoie’s contract is ending this year. He will be auditioning for a couple of precious open spots on some bigger teams. Or he could sign on for one more year at Spire and wait for free agency in 2024.

This opportunity for LaJoie is a big chance for Carson Hocevar as well. The domino effect of LaJoie moving up to the 9 gives the young Hocevar a chance in the 7. A Truck Series regular with a reputation of bumping and wrecking other drivers, Hocevar is hoping to show he has matured a lot this year on the track.

World Wide Technology Raceway is going to give a lot of drivers a chance to make a splash. A track that has only hosted a Cup Series race one time before, who knows what will happen with the Enjoy Illinois 300?