NASCAR Cup driver sidelined for weekend race due to COVID-19 protocols
NASCAR Cup driver Corey LaJoie will miss this weekend’s race at Michigan due to COVID-19 protocols, Spire Motorsports announced Thursday. LaJoie races for Spire in the No. 7 Chevrolet, which will be driven by Xfinity driver Josh Berry on Sunday.
LaJoie is not experiencing symptoms and did not test positive for the virus. He told NASCAR SiriusXM on Thursday afternoon that he’s in a mandatory seven-day quarantine period after an individual in his podcast studio tested positive earlier in the week.
“I don’t want to be the guinea pig or the example by (any) means,” LaJoie said. “But I do think people could probably learn from this particular circumstance and be a little more cautious.”
NASCAR’s most recent contact tracing policy dictates that a vaccinated individual does not need to quarantine (but must get tested 3-5 days after the exposure) and that an individual who is not vaccinated must quarantine at least seven days before returning with a negative test and without symptoms, according to FOX Sports.
LaJoie, 29, responded to a tweet shortly after Spire issued the news that he would be absent due to COVID-10 protocols, commenting, “Protocols” in quotes. He said that it was “frustrating” to miss the race, but that he understood NASCAR has to “do what they gotta do.”
NASCAR has not regularly tested drivers or team members for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and the sanctioning body has not required that participants get vaccinated. In June, NASCAR stopped issuing a health screening questionnaire that required individuals in the garage footprint at the racetracks, including drivers, team members and media, report any symptoms.
The sanctioning body earlier this week updated its pandemic protocols to limit driver interactions with fans at the track as positive COVID-19 cases across the U.S. rise, and in August, NASCAR mandated that face masks be worn indoors in the competition footprint at the tracks, regardless of vaccination status. That was a reversal of previously loosened restrictions.
LaJoie was slated to start 24th on Sunday. He has one top 10 finish this season with Spire.
Berry previously made one start in the Cup Series, also as a substitute for a Spire driver who was out due to COVID-19 protocols. He competed at Dover in May filling in for driver Justin Haley in the No. 77 car. Haley was the first Cup driver during the 2021 season to miss a race due to pandemic protocols, with LaJoie becoming the second. Last year, Cup drivers Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon also missed a race due to COVID-19 protocols.
Berry recently secured a deal to race full-time with JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series next season. He won one race at Martinsville in the lower-level series while competing on a part-time schedule with his team, and he’s also slated to fill in for Michael Annett in NASCAR’s Xfinity race on Saturday as Annett recovers from leg surgery.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 3:12 PM.
