LaJoie, McDowell Upset After Missed Opportunities in Clash LCQ

Corey LaJoie, who was filling in for the injured Brad Keselowski behind the wheel of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford Mustang, nearly advanced into the 23-car field for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. As Josh Berry ran away from the field in a dominant performance to win the LCQ, the focus turned to the battle for the second position, the final transfer slot for the Cook Out Clash.

LaJoie was in the thick of the battle, but try as he might, he couldn't get the better of Austin Cindric in a wild and dramatic chess match involving front bumpers, rear bumpers, and fenders in the closing laps of Wednesday afternoon's LCQ around the 0.250-mile track affectionately known as "The Madhouse".

LaJoie, who said earlier in the day that he felt like he was racing with house money in a fill-in role, wasn't as happy-go-lucky after climbing from the No. 6 car after the missed opportunity.

"I mean, [I'm] pissed off," LaJoie said in a media scrum after the race. "Not at Austin, I think everything out there was fair and above board for where we are at, Bowman Gray Stadium. I'll look back and watch it. I feel like I could have just held him out there and been in that position that he was against me."

In the end, LaJoie made the wrong moves in the chess match against Cindric, and was pinned in the outside lane in the pivotal final lap of the race. This allowed Cindric to rough up LaJoie in the final turn, and when AJ Allmendinger added extra momentum, it caused even harder contact between Cindric and LaJoie.

Cindric cruised to a second-place finish, while LaJoie was forced to accept a third-place result.

While it was a frustrating way for his Clash bid to end, LaJoie found a silver lining at the end of the race.

"It was good. I haven't been in a Cup car at a short track with the short track tire in almost two years. Tough to jump in the deep end against these guys, again and again; they are the best at driving stock cars. So, it's cool to dice it up with them. Thanks to this RFK group for tapping me to fill in for Brad this week."

LaJoie was certainly disappointed, but he wasn't the only driver who walked away from the LCQ with a bad taste in their mouth. Michael McDowell, who started near the front of the field, and made what seemed like an incredible move on the initial start of the race to take the lead into Turn 1. But under a Lap 6 caution, NASCAR determined that McDowell jumped the initial start of the race, which resulted in a black flag for McDowell.

This would derail McDowell's effort, and in the end, he could only muster an 11th-place finish. McDowell argued that while he crossed the finish line before the polesitter, Berry, that Berry actually accelerated before he did, but spun his tires, which caused McDowell to gain an advantage.

"[Berry] spun his tires. He launched in first gear, I launched in second. He went first, but he spun his tires, and so I was ahead, obviously, that part was fairly clear. At the start finish line I was ahead of him. But he launched first

McDowell continued, "They're not going to undo it, it's over now."

NASCAR sent McDowell to the rear of the 18-car field on the ensuing restart, and in just a couple of laps, McDowell had sliced his way back up to the ninth position. McDowell admits for a moment, he thought he could rally back to the front of the field, but then reality set in.

"For a minute, and then the tires said, 'No, you won't,'" McDowell quipped. Yeah, I just paid the price. I knew I needed to get spots, and I need to get them quick. Because if you goes caution after caution after caution, you have to be in position for restarts. So, I went fairly hard, and I paid the price on the long run for that."

While Berry and Cindric advanced to the Cook Out Clash Main Event field by way of finishing 1st and 2nd in the Last Chance Qualifier, Alex Bowman also secured the points provisional, as he was the highest driver in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, who had yet to lock into the field for the race.

The Cook Out Clash Main Event will be televised on FOX, with coverage set to kick off at 6 PM ET on Wednesday, February 4.

Kyle Larson secured the pole position for the event through Wednesday's qualifying session. He'll be joined on the front row by William Byron, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

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