Corey LaJoie was battling with Noah Gragson for position just inside the top-20 when it all went wrong during the final stage of Monday’s NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway. He made contact with the left-rear of Gragson’s car and spun to the inside apron, where in a shocking and unexpected outcome, the car immediately went airborne in a blowover crash. The car slid upside down, impacting the inside wall before continuing down the track. Once it transitioned from the asphalt to the infield grass, the car rolled multiple times.
“That’s just about the way the year’s gone,” said LaJoie after being released from the infield care center. “We have a good car and I find a way to flip it upside down. Twice this year we’ve been upside down and I’ve never been upside down in my whole career. That’s just how the year for our No. 7 team has been.
LaJoie was in the middle of an intense battle for position with Gragson, saying “the No. 10 [Gragson] chopped me a couple of times.”
LaJoie’s No. 7 car also went up on its side and rolled across the line at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this year, but these sorts of high-flying incidents are not common at tracks smaller than superspeedways. Even still, Michigan remains one of the fastest tracks on the circuit.
“That was a ride, buddy,” added LaJoie. “There were sparks and dirt and all sorts of stuff coming in. I just hate that our Camaro got a little dinged up. I think we had a top 10, top 12 car today and I hate we ended up on our roof.”
He also thanked NASCAR for “safe cars” after walking away from the incident unscathed. All roof and hood flaps deployed, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the airborne crash. The incident was eerily similar to a flip at the end of the NASCAR Xfinity race when Kyle Sieg crashed in the same spot.
NASCAR normally takes unexpected airborne crashes like this very seriously and will likely investigate both crashes.
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