Corey LaJoie stacking pennies in back of the NASCAR pack

You’ve got to love the guys who run in the back of the pack in NASCAR races.

For starters, without them you’d only have about a dozen cars lapping the track, and that probably would get boring.

Plus, the guys in the back are always happy to do an interview. And sometimes they say the darnedest things.

Like a few years back when popular Danica Patrick still was racing. Journeyman driver David Gilliland said whenever her car was close to his he would try to stay with her, because that was the best way to get his sponsors some TV time.

Like Gilliland, whose father, Butch, was a racer, and whose son, Todd, will drive in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Corey LaJoie comes from a NASCAR family — his dad, Randy, was a two-time Xfinity Series champion and is credited with nicknaming Cup Series champion Joey Logano “Sliced Bread.” As in the greatest thing since, a backhanded compliment to Logano’s budding stardom at the time.

Corey LaJoie also was once thought of as a rising star before his driving career stalled, forcing him into odd jobs. Such as crew chief in the lower rung ARCA West series. Turning wrenches in a truck stop town such as Bakersfield, California, is a reality check for those who aspire to win the Daytona 500 some day.

“I’ve seen a lot of the angles of the sport for only being 30,” LaJoie said during a cellphone chat before arriving in Las Vegas. “I’ve been on top of the pit box with a headset. I’ve been on top of the roof spotting, and I’ve been kind of everywhere else in between just trying to make ends meet.”

It sort of kept LaJoie’s name out there, and in 2019 he was able to return to the Cup Series.

He’s starting his fourth season driving for middling teams, with Spire Motorsports being the current one. Outside of catching a draft at Daytona or Talladega, where the rules narrow the speed gap between the fast cars and the slow ones, he has virtually zero chance of running up front.

“I wish I knew, because that’s what I struggle with every time,” LaJoie said of staying motivated while trying to take down the sport’s Goliaths with a subpar slingshot. “It’s tough showing up at the racetrack knowing you’re not in contention to win.”

But he says he still enjoys trying.

He avoided the big wrecks en route to eighth- and ninth-place finishes on the somewhat level playing field at Daytona and finished 14th there in the 2022 season opener. But at LVMS, it’ll probably be back to “Stacking Pennies” — LaJoie’s expression for his current situation that doubles as the name of his popular NASCAR-themed podcast.

“Maybe we can try it this weekend in Las Vegas,” he said about stacking pennies on a blackjack table after the checkered flag falls.

Around the horn

— As the seconds clicked off the scoreboard clock last Saturday at Cox Pavilion in the Class 4A final and Mojave High coaches and players began to celebrate their first boys state basketball championship with unbridled glee, this thought occurred. The NIAA’s decision to crown five boys champions and five on the girls side — giving those who rarely had the opportunity during the previous four-class setup a chance to get that joyous look in their eyes – may not be such a bad idea after all.

— Charlotte FC sold 73,500 tickets — a MLS record — for its home debut against LA Galaxy Saturday night, which bodes well for the billionaires putting up the money to bring domestic pro soccer to Las Vegas just as soon as MLS is willing to accept it.

— That’s awesome, baby, with a capital MWC. College basketball guru Dick Vitale has Boise State and Colorado State of the Mountain West on his list of seven mid-major teams that could march all the way to the NCAA men’s basketball final four. His other potential party crashers: Davidson, Murray State, Iona, Toledo, Vermont.

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Retired champion Jeff Gordon, on the difference between NBA and NASCAR fans: “Our fans would never waste good beer by pouring it on us.”

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.