Randy Lajoie

Competitor
CLASS OF 2016

Randy LaJoie started out racing go-karts at 8 years old, eventually joining his father Don at Danbury Race Arena in Danbury, CT. Randy won the Sportsman Championship there in 1981 when he was 19 years old, the last year the track was open. The father and son duo moved to Waterford Speedbowl in 1982 where they both won Modified races and Randy was named Rookie of the Year. Randy also won 4 SK Modified races at Stafford Speedway during 1982-1983.

It was at Waterford where he made his first start on the NASCAR North Late Model Tour in 1982. The following year in 1983, he moved to the NASCAR North Tour full time and found immediate success. He finished 4th in series points during his rookie campaign and won his first race (at Catamount Stadium in VT). 4 wins and a runner-up finish followed in 1984, before winning the series championship with a 5-win season in 1985. A year after enduring a horrific crash at Daytona International Speedway trying to qualify in one of the Gatorade Twin 125’s, he won the Daytona 500 consolation race in February of 1985. He was also crowned Catamount Stadium Late Model Champion in 1985.

By the mid-1990’s, Randy was competing on the NASCAR Busch Grand National (now Xfinity) Series where he earned back-to-back series championships in 1996-1997, winning 5 races each in both seasons. He had 15 career BGN wins from 1996-2001. He also won an International Race of Champions (IROC) race in 1997 against the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, Alex Zanardi and Al Unser Jr.

During his career, Randy competed at all 3 levels of NASCAR’s national series, plus the old NASCAR Busch North Series and the Whelen Modified Tour. He retired from driving after the 2006 season.

Randy endured multiple horrific crashes during his career and became an advocate for driver safety. He established The Joie of Seating in 1999 while still an active competitor. It became one of the industry leaders in seats & safety equipment for race cars at all levels of competition.

Randy’s father is Danbury Arena legend & fellow NEAR Hall of Famer Don LaJoie, and his son Corey began competing on the NASCAR Cup Series fulltime in 2017. In 2023, Randy was named as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers as part of their 75 year celebration.