LaJoie Finally Brings It Home
Aug 03, 2012
LaJoie Finally Brings It Home
Closes Out Dominating Night With K&N Pro Win At Iowa
NEWTON, Iowa -- Corey LaJoie finally was able to celebrate in Victory Lane at Iowa Speedway, closing out a dominating effort Friday night with a win in the Pork Be Inspired 150.
It was the third NASCAR K&N Pro Series win of the season for LaJoie and may be the sweetest -- coming on the heels of a flat tire in the final laps at Columbus Motor Speedway.
In the May race at Iowa, LaJoie was fast early but had a mechanical issue that put him down several laps that he was not able to recover even as he was running similar lap times as the race leaders. In 2010, he was part of a three-wide battle for the lead at the white flag but ultimately finished fourth.
Friday, there was no misfortunate to keep LaJoie out of Victory Lane.
He weathered a side-by-side battle with rookie Kyle Larson, who ultimately finished second, and then pulled away following a late red flag that set up a 14-lap sprint to the finish. Just prior to the last caution that brought out the red, LaJoie and Larson ran three straight laps side by side with Larson a nose with ahead at the line each time.
After LaJoie and Larson, Sergio Pena finished third. Chase Elliott was fourth and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East points leader Brett Moffitt. Travis Pastrana finished sixth, followed by Cale Conley, Eddie MacDonald, Michael Self and Daniel Suarez.
Self was the top finishing NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver in the second combination event of the season between the East and West.
Earlier in the day, Conley won the 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Light. He led the first four laps before giving way to LaJoie, who led a race-high 134 laps.
The Pork Be Inspired 150 will air on SPEED on Thursday, Aug. 16, at 3 p.m. ET.
The next race for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will be the Greenville 140 at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway, while the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will return to the track Aug. 26 on the road course at Portland International Raceway.
Tomorrow night, the U.S. Cellular 250 presented by the Enlist™ Weed Control System NASCAR Nationwide Series will be going green at Iowa Speedway. Tickets are still available, starting at $55 and are available online at www.iowaspeedway.com, or by calling 1-866-RUSTY-GO (787-8946).
**Jason Christley of NASCAR Home Tracks contributed to this story
« back
