NASCAR rumors had slowed down heading into the Summer Olympics, with drivers on expiring contracts or teams with open seats finding matches for the 2025 season. All of that changed when Spire Motorsports announced it would part ways with Corey LaJoie.
LaJoie fell well short of Spire Motorsports' expectations this season. Coming out of the Cook Out 400 at Richmond, the 32-year-old Cup Series driver is currently 30th in the standings, 260 points below the cut line. He's also never won in his Cup Series career and he has just one top-10 finish in 23 races this season.
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It comes after Spire Motorsports started investing more money into the program yet isn't receiving enough back on its increase spending. During an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson shed light on what led to the call being made.
"Sometimes it's just kind of a gut feel, Obviously, the team had been struggling and I had been agonizing over it for a couple months. You guys have been around, I call it struggling team syndrome where everything just gets analyzed to the nth degree. But it was really odd in a way because generally in these situations you have a crew chief that's saying, 'man, the driver's not doing this.' Or you have a driver that's saying, 'man, what's my guy doing?' And this wasn't any of that. In some ways, that actually made it a lot more difficult because it's like man, if it's not this and it's not that, then what the hell are we doing?"
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For LaJoie, he's now without a seat for the 2025 season. As for Spire Motorsports, there are already plenty of NASCAR rumors pointing to who could take over the No. 7 car next season.
Spire Motorsports already made its first big move for 2025, signing Michael McDowell to take the open seat in the No. 71 car. Months later, Dickerson hired crew chief Travis Peterson to pair him with McDowell next season. Now, the team must find its driver for the No. 7.
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The Athletic reported that Justin Haley is a name to "really keep an eye on" to replace LaJoei in the No. 7 car next season.
Haley, who turns 26 years old next April, originally joined Spire Motorsports in 2019 as the driver for the No.77 car. Later that season, he came through with a win in Daytona at the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Now at Rick Ware Racing, the Indiana native is an appealing option.
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He's finished better in recent months, earning top-10 finishes at the Enjoy Illinois 300 on June 2 and on May 12 in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington. Haley also landed top-20 finishes at Iowa Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway and in the Chicago Street Race.
However, he's not a free agent. Haley is in the first year of a two-plus-one contract, meaning he is under Rick Ware Racing's control through at least 2025. If Spire is serious about wanting to land Haley, though, the buyout should be reasonable and his reputation could make RWR much more amenable to allowing him to pursue a new opportunity.
If it's not Haley, things get interesting. Kyle Busch has frequently popped up in NASCAR rumors this summer and Dickerson has been open about speaking to potential options, including upcoming free agents.
Pulling Busch away from Richard Childress Racing would prove far more difficult, but Spire Motorsports would have a chance. Dickerson has previously served as a spotter for Busch and there's a good relationship. Plus, Busch sold his Truck Series team and the assets belonging to Kyle Busch Motorsports to Spire Motorsports in 2023 (AP).
One other name to keep an eye on as a realistic candidate for the No. 7 car in 2025 is Sam Mayer. The 21-year-old is currently 12th in the Xfinity Series standings right now, boasting 2 wins with 7 top-5 finishes and 10 top-10s in 20 races this season.