Only 10 races remain in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, and competitors head to South Carolina on Sunday for the third time of the out-of-the-ordinary year for the iconic Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
The series resumed its season at the track “Too Tough to Tame” back in May, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic suspended on-track competition, following just the fourth race of the season at Phoenix Raceway in early March. The 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval hosted two races in the span of four days, May 17 and May 20, as the NCS cautiously navigated a safe return to racing.
While a plethora of alterations had to be made to the regular season schedule to make up for the 10-week hiatus, the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs schedule remains intact, and kicks off this weekend at the “Lady in Black.”
Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 32 for Go Fas Racing, will wheel a familiar scheme on Sunday when he takes the green flag in the Trump 2020 Ford Mustang. It will be the seventh event for Patriots of America – a political action group calling for the reelection of Donald Trump – as a partner with GFR.
LaJoie and his team are hoping to help get NASCAR fans to the polls in November. Out of an estimated 75 million NASCAR fans, about 15 million are not registered voters.
The native of North Carolina has five starts at Darlington, with a best finish of 24th – a result he posted in May in the second race back.
Klik Marketing, a full-service marketing and communications company, will also be represented as an associate sponsor this weekend for LaJoie and the No.32 team.
Klik helps brands identify their target market, find them online, and drive them to your website using search engine optimization, paid advertising, social media, public relations, video and photography.
Tune in to NBCSN on Sunday, September 6 at 6 p.m. ET to watch the Trump 2020 Ford Mustang battle the historic track.
LaJoie on the upcoming race:“Everyone in the series always looks forward to racing at Darlington. It’s such a historic venue and it is a really challenging racetrack to run at. It’s especially exciting this year to head back to Darlington after the two races earlier in the year. We showed good speed in the few races we ran there and as a small team, it helps to be able to look back over our notes and we hope to bring a great handling Trump 2020 No.32 Ford for the Southern 500.”
LaJoie’s Cup history at Darlington Raceway:Starts: 5Best Finish: 24th (2020)Average Start: 29.2Average Finish: 29.2
Looking back on the Coke Zero Sugar 400:Corey LaJoie was scored in 21st at the checkered flag of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, after being involved in a last-lap incident that stripped him of his position inside the top-10. Firing off from 25th, LaJoie was scored in 24th by lap 35, hanging on to the rear of the lead pack. Over the remainder of the opening segment, the North Carolina native slipped a few positions to finish in 28th. Happy with the balance, he pitted for four tires and fuel under the stage-ending caution.
As the intensity level increased among the field of drivers vying for the final playoff spots, LaJoie and crew chief Ryan Sparks remained committed to their superspeedway strategy. With 23 laps to go in stage two, the Trump 2020 Ford reached ninth on the scoring pylon in the midst of pit stops, before dropping to pit road on lap 87 for four tires and fuel. The 28-year-old driver returned to the pits under the stage break.
With 45 laps left in the 400-mile race, the No. 32 joined a handful of its Ford teammates in a group behind the lead pack – LaJoie was scored in 31st. On lap 131, a contingent of Fords – including the Go Fas Racing entry – pitted. Following a three-second stop for fuel only, LaJoie returned to the track for the sprint to the finish. He pitted one final time with 15 to go for tires and fuel. Lining up in 13th for the final restart with two laps to go, LaJoie charged into the eighth position, until getting clipped with half a lap to go, relegating him to a 21st-place finish. Despite the ending, the result marked LaJoie’s 15th top-25 of the season.
Go Fas Racing PR
