Austin Cindric wasn’t happy with Corey LaJoie after the Daytona 500.
But Corey didn’t seem to mind.
It was a wild finish in the rain-delayed season opener for the NASCAR Cup Series. After a major crash involving 22 cars with less than 10 laps to go, the Great American Race was set up for a shootout with Ross Chastain and William Byron leading their respective lines.
But coming to take the white flag, Chastain appeared to make an aggressive block in front of Austin Cindric, and both cars ended up wrecking as the leaders took the one lap to go signal.
William Byron wins the Daytona 500! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/bmofJSB6k3
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 20, 2024
The caution flew, and because the leaders had already taken the white flag, the NASCAR rule book states that the winner is whoever was ahead at the time the caution came out – which NASCAR says was William Byron. (Although some fans aren’t so sure).
But regardless, Corey LaJoie ended up with a great 4th place finish for his #7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, and was obviously pleased with the result.
Cindric, on the other hand, wasn’t happy with LaJoie.
In his postrace interview, the driver of the #2 for Team Penske blamed the last-lap crash on a push from LaJoie:
“Corey finished 4th, so congrats. He tried to fit a car where there wasn’t a car and just continued to push through my left rear until I wrecked.”
Austin Cindric felt he got wrecked by Corey LaJoie on that final lap. Cindric’s view: pic.twitter.com/gsjH5MmYcx
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 20, 2024
And he even appeared to explain to Ross Chastain that the last lap crash actually wasn’t Chastain’s fault, after the driver of the #1 car took the blame for it in his postrace interview:
Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric talk it over and apparently Ross is made aware of something he didn't know pic.twitter.com/JuZFwO70dE
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) February 20, 2024
But for his part, LaJoie wasn’t too concerned about what Cindric thought.
Speaking with Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports after the race, LaJoie (who’s also a friend of Whiskey Riff) gave his side of the story:
“The 2 left the bottom open. I tried to feel it kinda lazily, he kinda blocked it lazily. The 16 went with me and he kinda turned off our nose. The 1 called it quick to try to fill that bottom and try to get out front. He then took the move he did to try to win the race and it didn’t work out for him. I’m glad that we came out of the other side.”
And when asked how he felt about Cindric being upset at the finish, Corey didn’t mince words:
“It’s the last lap. I’ve seen him do a lot of dumb things too and we’re not friends. So that’s that.”
Corey LaJoie was happy with his fourth-place finish in the Daytona 500. What he saw on the last lap and the contact with Austin Cindric: pic.twitter.com/6T42dSf8xr
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 20, 2024
Checkers or wreckers, baby. NASCAR is BACK.
