It took Corey LaJoie 23 races to reach Victory Lane in his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East career, but once he got there, he’s made it a regular occurrence.
The 21-year-old Concord, N.C., picked up his fourth win in the last eight races to Saturday afternoon at the “Monster Mile” in the American Real TV 150 at Dover International Speedway.
The victory moved LaJoie to within one point of championship leader Kyle Larson with two races remaining.
LaJoie held off runner-up Darrell Wallace Jr. and third-place Brandon McReynolds in a green-white-checkered finish.
LaJoie and McReynolds got together while battling for the lead on Lap 147. The damaged rear bumper cover on LaJoie’s car put him in danger of being black-flagged, but free-pass car of Gdovic knocked the cover off under caution before that happened. With the issue resolved, NASCAR withdrew the black flag and LaJoie maintained the lead.
Earlier in the day, Wallace won the 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Light.
Ben Kennedy finished fourth and Larson, who started in the rear after a transmission change, came back to finish fifth.
Bryan Ortiz, C.J. Faison, Jimmy Weller, Dylan Presnell and Gdovic rounded out the top 10.
Brett Moffitt, who was the points leader entering the race, finished 18th. He was knocked out of the race lead after contact with LaJoie and then had to pit to change a faulty battery. He dropped to eight points behind Larson.
LaJoie’s wins have come on a flat quarter-mile (Bowman Gray Stadium), a .4-mile (Langley Speedway), banked .875-mile (Iowa Speedway) and now a high-banked mile (Dover).
The American Real TV 150 will air on SPEED on Thursday, October 4 at 3 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to the track Saturday, Oct. 27 for the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway.
RESULTS:
Unofficial Results
Friday
At Dover International Speedway
Dover, Del.
Lap length: 1 mile
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (2) Corey LaJoie, Concord, NC, Ford, 154 laps, 86.100 mph.
2. (1) Darrell Wallace, Jr., Concord, NC, Toyota, 154.
3. (7) Brandon McReynolds, Mooresville, NC, Chevrolet, 154.
4. (15) Ben Kennedy, Daytona Beach, FL, Chevrolet, 154.
5. (19) Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA, Toyota, 154.
6. (9) Bryan Ortiz, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Toyota, 154.
7. (10) Cj Faison, Seaford, Del, Chevrolet, 154.
8. (14) Jimmy Weller, Hubbard, OH, Toyota, 154.
9. (20) Dylan Presnell, Sevierville, TN, Toyota, 154.
10. (23) Brandon Gdovic, Yorktown, VA, Toyota, 153.
11. (13) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, MA, Chevrolet, 153.
12. (5) Sergio Pena, Winchester, VA, Toyota, 153.
13. (28) Nicholas Sweet, Barre, VT, Dodge, 152.
14. (24) Jeff Anton, Russell, MA, Chevrolet, 151.
15. (16) Ryan Gifford, Winchester, TN, Toyota, 151.
16. (27) Clay Campbell, Martinsville, VA, Chevrolet, 150.
17. (21) Larry Barford, Jr., Denton, MD, Chevrolet, 149.
18. (4) Brett Moffitt, Grimes, IA, Toyota, 147.
19. (22) Sam Hunt, Midlothian, VA, Toyota, 147.
20. (25) Hector Aguirre, Monterey, Mexico, Toyota, 144.
21. (18) Dale Quarterley, Westfield, MA, Chevrolet, 127, accident.
22. (11) Jesse Little, Sherrils Ford, NC, Chevrolet, 104, accident.
23. (3) Jorge Arteaga, Aguascalientes, Mexico, Toyota, 55, accident.
24. (12) Cale Conley, Vienna, WV, Toyota, 51, accident.
25. (8) Ryan Blaney, High Point, NC, Toyota, 51, accident.
26. (17) Andrew Smith, Pooler, GA, Chevrolet, 42, accident.
27. (6) Chase Elliott, Dawsonville, GA, Chevrolet, 27, accident.
28. (26) John Salemi, Nashua, NH, Toyota, 13, oil leak.
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