K&N Pro Series Racer Cory LaJoie Takes Home a Victory at Dover International Speedway
- Oct 26, 2012
Brett Moffitt, who entered the race at Dover International Speedway as the leader in the K&N Pro Series East standings, finished 18th and dropped to third place, eight points behind Larson. LaJoie started on the front row with pole winner Darrell Wallace Jr., took the lead on lap 113 of the American Real TV 150 and beat Wallace in a green-white-checkered flag finish.
LaJoie was racing a car that Miguel Paludo and Zach Germain shared a couple years ago. "I think we got it about a month ago," LaJoie said after the race on Saturday night. "Stripped it and painted it and built it. Didn't even test it. The first time it hit the track was yesterday morning." Moffitt tied for the lead in laps led with 56. But his car suffered some damage during a collision with LaJoie. He had to pit a little later to change a faulty battery. He crossed the finish line seven laps down to the race leaders. Wallace led the first 56 laps of the race. Moffitt passed Wallace on lap 57 and was out front for the next 56 laps. "Brett was really strong. Darrell was really strong," LaJoie said. "We just kept putting ourselves in position and come out with it." LaJoie took the lead from Moffitt on lap 113, but ran into a little trouble on lap 147. The cover on his car's rear bumper was peeling off and NASCAR officials were prepared to black flag Lajoie three laps from the checkered flag. But Brandon Gdovic knocked the dangling cover off of LaJoie's bumper under caution and lifted the black flag threat. "We lost the wrong way," Wallace said. "You get to cheat to win. You get somebody else to get to help you take your rear bumper off. I don't understand that. I'm still frustrated over that." LaJoie beat Wallace, the winner of last year's season finale at Dover, on the final restart and won by 0.697 seconds. "Great day for us, great weekend overall," Wallace said. "We've been struggling all year. To be able finish second here and end up putting it on the pole, I'll take it. That's just how it ends." Rookie Brandon McReynolds followed in third place. "We got a really good thing going here and hopefully we can get some more races," McReynolds said. "I really don't know what's on the schedule next, but we'll keep plugging away." LaJoie won the first race of his K&N Pro Series East career at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina in June. He won his second race at Langley Speedway in Virginia later that month. He won the third race of his K&N Pro Series career at Iowa Speedway, a combination race with the drivers and teams from the West Series, in August. Larson crossed the finish line in fifth place. He has seven top-five finishes and two wins in 12 K&N Pro Series East races this year. There are two races remaining on the K&N Pro Series East schedule. "I'm just going to be smart," LaJoie said. "I'm not going to change anything I've been doing all year long. Our game plan's working pretty good right now. Hopefully we can finish this year out strong." The next race is the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 at Greenville Pickens Speedway on Oct. 22. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
