Jeff Dickerson reveals what Spire Motorsports is looking for in Corey LaJoie’s replacement driver

Spire Motorsports has a vacancy to fill in the No. 7 car for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with the race team parting ways with Corey LaJoie after the current campaign.

Co-owner Jeff Dickerson, making an appearance Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, said they’re looking for someone with a “long runway,” and who has the “respect of the racing community.”

Spire Motorsports looking for driver with ‘long runway’

“Obviously, we made a change, right,” Dickerson said. “I’ve been representing drivers for years, I’ve sat there in that seat, and everything seems hollow. You know what I mean? You’re telling them, ‘Hey, it’s not you, it’s me.’ Things like that, right. It just seems all a little hollow. So, I don’t wanna say anything here that’s not — that the boat fell on Corey because I think he’s gonna go somewhere else and probably kick ass and make me look like a total idiot. In respect of all that, just looking for something or somebody that can plug in, somebody’s that’s got a bit of a long runway, somebody I don’t wanna say younger, but maybe somebody that stands on the gas, has respect of the racing community.

“I feel like we have — most of our hires are essentially on brand. We’re just trying to make these leaps towards this. Like the [Michael] McDowell thing. Like everybody’s like, ‘well that makes sense.’ I wouldn’t expect like a huge splash. I don’t think we’re gonna get Dale Jr. to come out of retirement here. And certainly, at this stage in the game. But that’s the litmus test is whenever we make that decision for everybody to go, ‘ah, yeah, we saw that coming. That makes total sense.’ You guys know the list like we do. There’s not like a secret list of who’s walking around right now and who’s not. We’re just gonna keep working through that.”

Spire Motorsports will look a lot different in 2025

Spire will look a lot different in 2025 with LaJoie out the door. Michael McDowell will pilot the No. 71 car, joining the team from Front Row Motorsports. Carson Hocevar will remain in the No. 77, while a search is out to find a driver for the No. 7.

A few names who could be of interest to Spire are Sam Mayer, Ryan Preece and perhaps Justin Haley, who has raced for Spire in the past, per Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. Whoever gets the seat, they’ll get the chance to work with Rodney Childers, one of the most accomplished crew chiefs in the sport.

As for LaJoie, time will tell what his next move is. LaJoie, 32, was Spire’s first-ever full-time Cup Series driver, signing with the team ahead of the 2021 season. Unfortunately for LaJoie, the results just haven’t been there. He currently sits 28th in the points standings through 22 races, tallying just one top-10 finish. In his previous three seasons with Spire, LaJoie finished 29th, 31st and 25th in the points standings, respectively. LaJoie is winless through 258 Cup Series starts with nine top 10s.