Randy LaJoie

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Randy LaJoie, a two-time champion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, is an analyst on ESPN’s coverage of the series. LaJoie won back-to-back series championships in 1996 and 1997 while driving for car owner William Baumgartner, whose team had won the 1995 title with Johnny Benson.

LaJoie, who has 15 wins in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition, was the first series driver to win more than $1 million in a single season, a mark he set in 1997. He has raced in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions during his career, having also driven in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

LaJoie started his driving career on short tracks around his Norwalk, Conn., home, following in the footsteps of his father, Don, a successful New England racer for many years. He drove both open wheel modifieds and full-bodied late model cars, and was a champion in the old NASCAR North Series in 1985.

He has been a pioneer in the development of safety equipment for racing, especially in the area of driver’s seats in race cars, and owns a company that produces race car seats. While not officially retired from driving, LaJoie has branched out into the media, co-hosting a Sirius Satellite Radio program on NASCAR.

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