NASCAR: Kevin Harvick Drops Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Replacement Prediction

As the 2025 NASCAR season approaches, the excitement around Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 car intensifies with the upcoming departure of Corey LaJoie. The intrigue surrounding the next potential driver for the coveted seat caught the attention of racing veteran Kevin Harvick, who shared his insights on his “Happy Hour” podcast.

Harvick explained:

“Well, there’s not many rides left, and I think that the timing of all that was — I think caught everyone off guard for sure. With the hiring of Rodney Childers going over to Spire, they’ve obviously got a vision in their mind that I guess we’re gonna see play out as you see and hear how many different people that they’ve hired to go to Spire. So, the driver of the 7 car is going to be an interesting one because it appears that it’s going to come from a seat. Some seat, somewhere on the Cup side is probably gonna fill that 7 seat.

“So, we just have to wait and see how that all shakes out, but I think everybody was caught off guard and Spire has definitely said, ‘Hey, we’re here to win and spend the money to hire the people to put in these cars and work on these cars to figure out what that effort consists of in order to go win races.'”

Justin Haley currently holds the spotlight as the leading contender for the No. 7 car. Already showcasing impressive skills this season and with a win at the 2019 Coke Zero 400 under his belt, Haley’s potential return to Spire Motorsports could mark a rejuvenating full-circle moment.

Jordan Bianchi, a sportswriter with close ties to the circuit, stated, as quoted by Yardbarker:

“There’s a lot of things intertwined behind the scenes that are kind of just unfolding but I would say Justin Haley’s the leading contender over there. There’s also another driver and I wouldn’t feel comfortable saying his name right now, but he is in the Cup Series and that’s also someone else to keep an eye on.”

NASCAR Cup Series Current Standings

1. Kyle Larson – 779 points
2. Denny Hamlin – 758 points
3. Christopher Bell – 701 points
4. William Byron – 678 points
5. Ryan Blaney – 702 points
6. Tyler Reddick – 774 points
7. Chase Elliott – 773 points
8. Brad Keselowski – 636 points
9. Alex Bowman – 615 points
10. Joey Logano – 557 points
11. Daniel Suarez – 497 points
12. Austin Cindric – 451 points
13. Martin Truex Jr. – 662 points
14. Ty Gibbs – 602 points
15. Bubba Wallace – 587 points
16. Chris Buescher – 584 points
    (PLAYOFFS CUT-OFF)
17. Ross Chastain – 584 points
18. Chase Briscoe – 485 points
19. Kyle Busch – 465 points
20. Todd Gilliland – 454 points
21. Michael McDowell – 431 points
22. Carson Hocevar – 414 points
23. Josh Berry – 412 points
24. Noah Gragson – 400 points
25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 376 points
26. Ryan Preece – 341 points
27. Erik Jones – 337 points
28. Justin Haley – 329 points
29. Corey LaJoie – 327 points
30. Daniel Hemric – 323 points
31. Austin Dillon – 319 points
32. John Hunter Nemechek – 313 points
33. Zane Smith – 262 points
34. Harrison Burton – 243 points
35. Kaz Grala – 166 points
36. Cody Ware – 47 points
37. Joey Hand – 43 points
38. Jimmie Johnson – 39 points
39. Derek Kraus – 32 points
40. David Ragan – 17 points
41. Kamui Kobayashi – 8 points
42. Will Brown – 6 points
43. Cam Waters – 2 points