'Having A Kid Does Not Slow You Down': Corey LaJoie Talks Family Life And Relationship With His Own Dad

Many drivers in NASCAR have a family connection to the sport — but as as Corey LaJoie explains, those ties aren't always a good thing.

Corey, who currently drives the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports and is featured in the new USA Network series "Race For The Championship," is the son of NASCAR legend Randy LaJoie. Randy left Corey big shoes to fill: He won the NASCAR Busch Series (known today as the Xfinity Series) twice, in 1996 and 1997. 

"People just automatically assume when your dad raced that you get all the good stuff. Well, my dad swung the pendulum the other side and pretty much gave me the crappiest stuff that he could find and kind of built some grit and resilience because he knew that he wasn't going to be able to pay my way to the top," Corey told USA Network of his relationship with his father.

These days, Corey is a dad himself: He has two sons with wife Kelly LaJoie.

"Family life is a lot of fun, especially when I get to relive some memories of myself growing up following my dad to the race track. To have my sons come to the race track and follow me is — it should make some pretty cool memories," he said.

Part of the reason he wanted to do "Race For The Championship" is to show fans that side of himself and let them into his world at home.

"The fans' peek into the personal life of myself and my competitors is something that's gonna be a little bit different than what they're used to seeing," he said.

But while his family has changed his outlook, it hasn't affected his love for racing.

"Having a kid does not slow you down, and when you're in the car and you put the helmet on, you don't think about, like, ooh, I can get hurt. I got life insurance policy for that and it's up to date," Corey joked.

You can watch more in the video, above.

“Race For The Championship” airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on USA Network. You can catch more NASCAR content on Peacock right now.