Corey LaJoie to replace Chase Elliott at Gateway after suspension for wrecking Denny Hamlin
With Chase Elliott missing next weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300 due to a suspension from NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports has revealed the substitute driver. Corey LaJoie will hop behind the wheel for Sunday’s action.
FOX NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass tweeted the news on Tuesday, just moments after NASCAR issued Elliott’s suspension. The driver faces a one-race suspension for right-rear hooking Denny Hamlin Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
LaJoie has raced in over 200 NASCAR Cup Series events over the past eight years, recording six finishes in the top-10. He’ll jump behind the No. 9 car to help Hendrick.
Hendrick also reportedly doesn’t plan to appeal Elliott’s suspension. Instead, the team will request a playoff waiver from NASCAR.
The Enjoy Illinois 300 comes from St. Louis’ Gateway Motorsports Park on Sunday, June 4. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:30 p.m. ET and the broadcast airs on FS1.
Elliott currently ranks 29th in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings and owns four top-10 finishes with a pair of top-fives.
Denny Hamlin sounds off on Chase Elliott
Hamlin has had no trouble criticizing Chase Elliott since the incident at Charlotte on Monday afternoon. He called on NASCAR to suspend the young driver, which it eventually did on Tuesday.
“He threw a hissy fit and hung a left on us in the most dangerous part of the racetrack that you possibly could,” Hamlin said on his Actions Detrimental podcast. “It ended my day and his and, in my opinion, he shouldn’t be racing next weekend because NASCAR set a precedent last year on this.”
Hamlin called Elliott’s maneuver “immature” and “childish,” among other things.
“That is just so immature to right-rear hook someone. It’s just childish and it just pisses me off,” Hamlin said. “You gotta be better than that. … Chase Elliott made comments May 1 about how he felt how unsafe he felt the cars were. But yet, you think that’s OK. It doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever.”
Tuesday afternoon, NASCAR sent out a tweet stating that Hamlin would not be racing in this weekend’s event.
“Chase Elliott suspended from the next NASCAR Cup Series Championship event following Monday’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” the tweet said.
Hamlin also said that he was so mad after the race that he couldn’t see straight. He mentioned that if Elliott “walked through the door,” and “take a swing,” because of his frustration with the driver’s actions.