Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) and Biagi-DenBenste Racing announced today they
will partner to enter Corey LaJoie in four of the final five NASCAR Nationwide
Series races this season. LaJoie will pilot the No. 98 Medallion Financial Ford
owned by Biagi-DenBenste Racing in the events at Kansas Speedway, Charlotte
Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
LaJoie, who is a
development driver for RPM, is a proven talent behind the wheel. He has one win
in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Series, five wins in the NASCAR K&N
Pro Series East and three wins in the ARCA Racing Series. The son of NASCAR
champion Randy LaJoie, Corey has five starts in NASCAR's three national series
with a Top-10 finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series earlier this year
at Bristol. The four events this year in the Nationwide Series will give him
his most starts in the Nationwide Series.
"I have to thank both
RPM and Biagi-DenBenste Racing for giving me the opportunity to put four races
together in the Nationwide Series," said LaJoie. "This is a very good car with
good people supporting it. They are a proven team that is capable of finishing
in the Top-Five. These races will be another great opportunity to advance my
learning curve on the bigger tracks and with cars with more
horsepower."
Biagi-DenBeste
Racing
has made 11 starts
with a best finish of fourth scored by David Ragan. RPM driver Aric
Amirola has most recently raced the car at Chicagoland and Dover. LaJoie has one
start with the team this season and finished 15th at the Kentucky
Speedway in only his second Nationwide Series start.
"Corey has shown that
he learns very quickly on the track," said Fred Biagi
Co-Owner of Biagi-DenBeste Racing. "Our first race
together we finished 15th in only his second Nationwide Series
start. We feel that we can compete in the Top-10 and Top-Five in these four
races with Corey and that's our goal."
LaJoie's first race
will be this Saturday in the Kansas Lottery 300 at the Kansas Speedway. The
race will be televised live on ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
