LaJoie… King in Memphis

October 14, 2001/Memphis, TN: Memphis Motorsports Park is a typical short track. The race is characterized by lots of bumping and banging and drivers have to stay in a constant state of alert to survive the duration. It takes a fine balance of patience and aggressiveness to pass the competition, yet avoid getting mixed up in someone else’s mess. Today, Randy LaJoie and the #7 Kleenex®/Scott® Brand Products Team demonstrated exactly what it takes to win, and wrapped up their second victory of the season at the Sam’s Town 250.

Due to rain, qualifying was eliminated and the field was set by owner’s points. This placed LaJoie 16th on the starting grid. The Kleenex®/Scott® Brand Products Team was disappointed; they were fast in practice and knew that they would have started higher if they had the opportunity to qualify. Although they were frustrated, they were confident that LaJoie had the car and the ability to get to the front, and if he could just stay out of trouble, he had a strong finish ahead of him.

When the green flag waved to start the race, LaJoie, immediately began gaining positions. The only thing that slowed him down were caution flags. In true short track fashion, four caution periods came out before sixty laps had been completed, but LaJoie had already flashed into 8th place. The caution on lap 60 gave the Kleenex® Team their first chance to service Randy’s car. He came down pit road and received four fresh Good Years and a full tank of gas. Upon LaJoie’s instructions, no changes were made to the handling and he returned to the field in 11th place. On lap 67, the race restarted and LaJoie, with associate sponsor Kroger, picked up right where he left off. One by one, Randy passed the next four cars over the course of 66 laps. On lap 133, another caution waved and Randy entered the pits for service on the Kleenex®/Scott® Brand Products Monte Carlo. On the stop, Randy got four new tires and enough fuel to go the distance. Once again, he said that the car was driving perfectly and did not want any changes made to the handling. Randy rejoined the pack in 6th place.

During the next 66 laps, LaJoie successfully dodged 3 spins on the track and worked his way into 4th place. When a caution came out on lap 207, crew chief Wally Rogers made the tough choice for Randy to stay out on the track despite the leaders coming in for pit stops. Wally’s call allowed LaJoie to inherit the lead, but he was going to have hold off a pack of hard chargers to stay up front.

With 36 laps remaining, the green flag waved to restart the race. LaJoie managed to hold off the competition for several circuits, but with under 20 laps left to go, Randy was passed for the lead. LaJoie’s older tires began to show and another car passed the Kleenex®/Scott® Brand Products Monte Carlo, relegating him to 3rd place. At that point, the team spotter reminded LaJoie to stay in pursuit of the leaders because if they ran into any trouble, he would be there to capitalize on their mistakes. Those words were nearly prophetic. In the last three laps, the lead cars tangled and LaJoie drove under them and into the lead. The white flag waved with Randy in first place and he stayed in front for the last lap to win the Sam’s Town 250, picking up his 15th career win.

“After the last caution, my crew chief told me I had 36 laps to hold everyone off and I thought we had a good chance to do that, but I must admit I questioned the call at the time," said LaJoie. "In those last laps, I could see the 43 car in my rear view and I knew he was coming quickly. He got a good run coming off the turn, and drove by me. Next thing I knew, the 10 car is right behind me and then he gets by me. They got together and started playing like Mike Tyson, and opened the door for me to take the lead. That’s short track racing. It’s not over till it’s over. It was a great win for the Kleenex® Team. We’ve deserved this for awhile. The great thing is that wins like this build up confidence and allow you to perform better next week, so I’m looking to carry this momentum over for the rest of the season.”