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Corey LaJoie has arrived in Pensacola this week to kick butt and take names.

And while that might sound a little over-dramatic, LaJoie has very much taken a win-at-all costs approach to the Snowball Derby. After making three previous starts at Five Flags Speedway over the past two years, he feels as though he has the car and now the experience to seal the deal on Sunday.

“I’m geared up with our preparation,” Lajoie said. “I’m going down there to win. Bottom line. I really feel like we can be a solid top-5 and that’s what you need to be to get in the ballpark.”

Lajoie made his first start at the Derby in 2014 but says his LFR car was still in the R&D stages of its development. He started 23rd and finished an admirable 13th. He finished 14th a year later but not before running inside the top-5 before tire strategy cycled him out of the mix.

He returned to Five Flags Speedway in September and had one of the best cars before a cut tire ended his run at a victory. But that start added to the notebook and it added to his overall confidence heading towards Sunday.

“As bad as we were last year, and we still were able to get it to the front, we’re now substantially better,” LaJoie said.

LaJoie will continue to work with RJ Otto, the same crew chief whom he won five K&N East races with in 2012, and the 25-year-old loves the ceiling on this combination. But the event also represents an opportunity for him to remind the world what he’s capable of doing with good equipment.

The son of two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion Randy, LaJoie has always been considered a top prospect but just couldn’t crack the glass ceiling at the highest level. He likes to say that he could do some great things with a spare three million dollar check, but just can’t find one lying around.

“At the end of the day, you can’t whip a horse at that level to make it go faster,” LaJoie said. “It is what is when you’re racing cars that have less power than the leaders. I found myself in a pretty good situation at Biagi-DenBeste but just tried whipping the horse too hard.

“It wasn’t going to make it faster, but I was trying really hard to make something happen, and put myself in some bad spots. I’ve never wrecked cars in my career. Never. But I just wanted to make it work.”

There have been some bright spots, especially this season at JGL Racing, where LaJoie routinely ran above that car’s average in his 10 appearances. Youtheory came on board as a sponsor this year and it leaves him feeling like he’s in a good spot to remain in NASCAR next season.

But even if it doesn’t work out, Lajoie is content to stay in Super Late Model racing. He likes the atmosphere and has become a valued member of the community as both as a driver and as a mechanic for several youngsters seeking aid. He also likes the parity, believing that hard work and time can make up for a limited budget.

Capturing the Tom Dawson Memorial Trophy could be springboard to greater things in NASCAR or it could provide him security to remain a fixture in short track racing. But either way, he desperately wants to win this race.

“It would be badass, man,” LaJoie said. “I’ve put a lot of time, effort and money into this race. It’s really important to me. I know their situations were different but this race did a lot for Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Johanna (Long) and John Hunter (Nemechek.)

“It’s good to beat everyone else on a given day but this is the race you want to win. I have a lot of traction going in my NASCAR career but we’ve got something good here in Pensacola too. We’re ready.”

Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.

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