LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 11: Corey Day, driver of the #17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Xfinity SeriesFocused Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 11, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
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Corey Day will be going temp to perm in 2026. The soon-to-be 20-year-old California native is moving into a full-time role in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series next season after making just 11 starts this year in the same series.
While his 2025 numbers won’t send statisticians running for a plaque in his honor, one top 10 and one top 5 finish, it was clearly enough to get the attention of Rick Hendrick. That’s no small feat. When the man who built the most dominant team in modern NASCAR says you’ve got something, you’ve got something.
“Corey impressed us with how quickly he adapted this year,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group which will once more be sponsoring the effort. “He’ll go into 2026 with less pavement experience than anyone in the field, but you’d never know it by watching him drive. The instincts and raw talent are off the charts, and he’s going to keep getting better with more seat time.”
Day didn’t just appear out of the Oklahoma red clay like some kind of racing prodigy summoned by the gods of horsepower. He’s been sharpening his skills in the dirt for years, continuing a family tradition. The son of veteran racer Ronnie Day, Corey first made his mark as Chili Bowl Rookie of the Year in 2022, then claimed the 2023 King of the West 410 NARC Championship and a World of Outlaws Gold Cup victory, an event his father also won.
In 2024, he turned heads with 10 victories, 25 top fives, and 44 top tens in 73 starts. Among those wins was the 83rd Turkey Night Grand Prix, where he became the youngest winner in the event’s storied history, a list that includes some of the greatest short-track racers America has ever produced.
This year, he kept the dirt flying, collecting trophies across multiple series. He notched a High Limit Racing win in Las Vegas, a World of Outlaws triumph at Knoxville, and a third consecutive Gold Cup Race of Champions title. He even added another High Limit victory at his home track, Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway, just to remind everyone where it all started.
When not throwing rooster tails of clay into the stands, Day has been putting in work on asphalt. Across 23 pavement starts in 2025, including nine in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he showed flashes of what Hendrick saw. A pole and a career-best second-place finish at Indianapolis Raceway Park in July proved that the talent translates just fine when the surface isn’t brown.
Day’s full-time leap will come under the guidance of crew chief Adam Wall, who ran Hendrick’s No. 17 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series this year. Despite rotating a lineup of drivers, Wall’s team managed two wins, three poles, three runner-up finishes, nine top fives, and ten top tens in just 21 races, a solid foundation for Day to build on.
So, in a few short months, Corey Day will climb into one of NASCAR’s most powerful rides, ready to see if his dirt-born instincts can carry him to victory on the sport’s biggest stage. It’s a gamble, yes, but then again, Rick Hendrick doesn’t make many bad bets.
“The opportunity to race full time for Mr. Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports is something I’ve been working toward and feel I’m ready for,” Day said. “I’ve learned so much from everyone here this past year, and I’m grateful for the chance to represent HendrickCars.com every week in 2026. Adam and the No. 17 team have shown the ability to win races, and I can’t wait to build on that foundation and compete for a championship.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregengle/2025/11/08/rick-hendrick-is-making-a-bold-bet-on-dirt-track-phenom-corey-day/
