Event: Alsco Uniforms 500
Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, North Carolina)
Format: Three Stages – Stages End: Lap 55, 115, 208
Date/Broadcast: Wednesday, May 27 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1
After completing 600 grueling miles of racing in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the Memorial Day weekend, the drivers of the NASCAR Cup Series return to the Queen City track on Wednesday for a 312-mile midweek race under the lights.
The 600-mile event marked Go Fas Racing driver Corey LaJoie’s 100th NCS start, and Wednesday’s 101st start will stamp the 28-year-old’s seventh start at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
LaJoie’s Ford will once again wear a red, white and blue paint scheme – this week with Superior Logistics branding as the company returns to sponsor the No. 32 entry at a Charlotte Motor Speedway event for the third year in a row.
Superior Logistics Services provides shipping solutions across the continental United States, Mexico and to select points in Canada. Its local pickup and delivery services are geared towards consumer convenience and on-time delivery.
Tune in to the Alsco Uniforms 500 on Wednesday, May 27 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
For more information on Superior Logistics, visit SuperiorLogistics.net.
LaJoie on the upcoming race weekend:“It’s been a busy couple of weeks for us but I think it has been advantageous to our team. Our Crew Chief Ryan Sparks has been doing a great job working with our entire team and the folks at Ford to get us as close as possible using sim-time and going off past notes. We’ve qualified pretty well at the last races and I think we’ll come back to Charlotte even stronger this Wednesday. We struggled a bit to get the front to rotate the way I wanted on Sunday, but Wednesday we can go and make adjustments around that and hopefully we’ll unload just as good as we have the past few races.
LaJoie’s history at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
Starts: 6
Best Finish: 12th (2019)
Average Start: 34.7
Average Finish: 26.2
Looking back on the Coca-Cola 600:Corey LaJoie and the ARK Ecosystem team fired off from the 24th position for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. In the early goings of the 600-mile event, LaJoie advanced his position to 23rd by the competition caution on lap 20 when he told the Go Fas Racing team that the ARK Ford had been about a three tight since the green flag. After a pit stop for Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel, he returned to the track in the 25th position on lap 28.
Rain brought out the second caution on lap 49 as LaJoie reported that the No. 32 was really tight after slipping back to 27th in the running order. After a 68-minute red flag, competition resumed and LaJoie made his way to pit road for four tires, fuel and a spring rubber in the right-rear. Nearing the end of the first stage, the North Carolina native was racing in 28th as a caution flew in the closing laps.
During the stage break, crew chief Ryan Sparks outlined a plan for the team’s pit stop, including an air pressure adjustment, tires and fuel. After a speedy stop, the 28-year-old started 26th for the second segment of 100 laps. He quickly relayed that he was struggling with front-turn on the ARK.io Ford. With varying pit strategies, the GFR Ford cycled to the 4th position as Sparks had a plan to stretch LaJoie’s pit cycle.
After nearly running out of fuel, the third generation racer came into the pits for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to help with front-turn before rounding out the second stage in 26th. LaJoie muscled his way up to the 23rd spot with 130 laps to go in the Coca-Cola 600 and pitted for service with 20 laps to go in stage three. He maintained the 24th position until the stage came to a close.
After taking the wave-around, the green flag flew again with 93 laps to go. Despite being on older tires, LaJoie held onto 23rd. After asking Sparks for more front-turn, he made his way to pit road on lap 333 for the final scheduled stop of the night and lined up in 25th for the restart, two laps down. The ARK machine remained in the top 25 with 35 laps to go. As the laps winded down and a late-race caution came out, LaJoie was wave-around eligible to gain a lap back and finished the Coca-Cola 600 in the 24th position.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILLL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
