Editor’s note: This is Part II of a two-part series detailing the No. 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series team and Corey Day. Part I can be read here.
Hendrick Motorsports is known to gamble on young prospects. Two of its current superstars in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs — Chase Elliott and William Byron — were brought in-house at a young age.
Next in line is Corey Day. The 19-year-old dirt-racing stud caught the eye of 2021 Cup champion Kyle Larson a few years ago while racing in a dirt midget. They soon competed against each other in sprint cars, and the rapid success of his California neighbor was noticeable.
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Larson hyped Day to NASCAR Hall of Famer and HMS vice chairman Jeff Gordon. Gordon, another California native, knew Day’s father, Ronnie, who competed in sprint cars on the West Coast. When Gordon ran laps in a United States Auto Club (USAC) midget for the first time in 30 years around the dirt track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2021, it was the young phenom who gave him pointers.
Two years later, Day won his first World of Outlaws at Silver Dollar Speedway. Ronnie immediately received a text from Gordon, asking if his son was ready to make the transition to pavement racing.
“When you have a guy like Kyle who is racing on the track with [Day] and saying those types of things, it certainly gets our attention for when we start looking down the road at up-and-coming drivers,” Gordon said. “It’s not that we were planning for that, but when somebody comes along that has that type of talent, you start looking at it a little bit differently of what’s possible.”
Before Gordon’s inquiry about Day’s pavement destiny, he had no interest in making the transition. The Days — a blue-collar family that operates a trucking company — didn’t have the backing to cover the expense it took to be successful on asphalt.
“I think you would be silly to not be a little interested if Jeff Gordon asked you that,” Day told NASCAR.com.
In April 2024, Day ran his first pavement late model race with JR Motorsports at Hickory Speedway. With sponsorship from team owner Rick Hendrick, he connected with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for four Craftsman Truck Series races late in the 2024 season. On the second day of 2025, he and his girlfriend, Ashlyn Rodriguez, made the cross-country expedition from California to North Carolina. The following week, he inked a multiyear developmental deal with Hendrick.
“I feel like we’re still getting adjusted,” Day said. “I have a busy schedule. I think the longest we’ve been home is a three-week span. I’m 19, so it’s like a kid going off to college. I’m at that age.”
Hendrick knew it would be a growing process for Day. He signed up for nine Truck Series events with Spire Motorsports, and the No. 17 Xfinity Series team would be built around him for one-third of the schedule. Between starts, he jets back and forth to dirt races across the country, having a presence in the World of Outlaws and Kubota High Limit Series, co-owned by Larson. He’s also signed up for Trans-Am races at select venues to learn the art of road-course racing.
Gordon, who experienced a similar jump from dirt to pavement more than three decades ago, believes the transition is a more difficult task today. With limited practice, the opportunity to chase success is a tall demand for inexperienced competitors.
“We’ve maintained from the very beginning how patient we are going to have to be, but we need to see progression,” Gordon said. “I think Corey has done a great job, and we’re starting to see that progression.”
Day’s transition has been highlighted by a pair of top-five Truck Series finishes, including a runner-up result at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in July. He had his best effort in an Xfinity Series entry last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, placing fourth. Through nine Xfinity starts, he has a 16.4 average finish.
“I think he’s getting the hang of it,” Larson said about Day’s gradual advancement. “It’s been a slower progression — not that I’m saying he’s done bad or anything — but I know the talent that he has, I’ve seen it first hand, I’ve raced with him. It’s been slower than I thought he would transition to it, but he’s still doing a great job. I think he’s staying out of trouble more often than I thought he might. He is finishing the laps and getting all the reps in, which is great.”
Internally, Hendrick Motorsports knows Day has the pace to contend with the other teams. It’s just about putting full races together.
“Corey has speed, there is no doubt about it,” Hendrick Motorsports President and General Manager Jeff Andrews, who also had a prior relationship with Ronnie on the West Coast, said. “This isn’t a 30- or 40-lap sprint car race like he’s used to and having to go quickly and doesn’t have a lot of time. More about the progress is managing the speed of the car, taking care of the car throughout the race and having the car at the end of the race.”
Day credits his dirt background as the reason he’s adapted relatively quickly to pavement. He’s learning new fundamentals and how to slow the race down, knowing it’s a marathon and not a sprint.
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The variation across different series has also been a hurdle to overcome, with Xfinity cars racing vastly differently from trucks on a technical standpoint. Now, 13 starts in his Truck Series career, Day believes he’s on a steady footing.
“I feel like I’m finally at a good point,” Day said. “It’s just seat time. Racing around those guys and figuring out how to race the aero side. This style of racing is something way different than sprint cars, so I’ve had to learn that.”
With a heavy dirt background, Day thought he would adjust proficiently to the Xfinity Series. The competition has been tough, however, and he’s lacking seat time compared to the full-time peers.
“I feel comfortable in [Xfinity], but I still have to learn how to go fast,” Day said. “Seat time is so big in whatever race car you drive.”
Hendrick brass knew mistakes would be frequent. Sticking to a long-term plan, though, remains the priority.
“The way I view it is, go learn what you need to learn,” Gordon said. “Sometimes, those lessons can be tough where you’re tearing up equipment, or the car and truck are coming around on you or a mistake on pit road. Just don’t make the same mistakes twice.
“Every race that Corey has been in, he’s the first guy to start searching for different lines and different ways to pass. He’s never afraid to try things. I think that’s what gravitates us towards a dirt driver. That’s a skill set that you can’t teach people. They have to get that experience, and usually it’s on dirt that they learn that. Once you learn that, you’re going to adapt to pavement and other types of cars.”
As the first true in-house developmental driver for Hendrick since the mid-2000s who hasn’t been loaned out to other teams, Day understands that, while the pressure is real, so is his confidence in future success.
“I want to perform to the best of my ability, and I want to impress everyone, do a good job,” Day said. “I’m trying my best. It’s a lot of weight on my shoulders with the history of this team. There are probably already a lot of people questioning after I suck a couple of times, why this kid, why him? I think I’m getting to a good spot.”
