Following the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa, Dean Thompson gave Corey Day one of his first confrontations in the sport. Day is a development driver with Chevy and Hendrick Motorsports. His race at Iowa was not his finest moment.
The talent of Corey Day is undeniable. With the likes of Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon vouching for his talents, he has been on he fast-track to the top of the sport in the last year.
However, his race at Iowa Speedway did not win him any friends. At least, not with Dean Thompson and his Sam Hunt Racing team. Thompson’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, talked about the drama on Door Bumper Clear this week.
“Corey had a tough day, with us anyway,” Kraft remarked. “He kind of cooked it underneath us one time and wrecked us, spun us out, or spun us both out, really. Then later in the race, he kinda just, he was three-wide, I don’t know if he didn’t know, or didn’t care, kind of moved, ran somebody into our left rear and cut a tire.”
Tommy Baldwin remarked on Day’s struggles. The talent is obvious, but like most young drivers his age, the development and honing of those skills takes time.
“Man, it’s tough becuase like Tyler [Courtney] said, he’s been hit or miss,” Baldwin said. “He was struggling, the car wasn’t at its best this past weekend, you could tell how free he was. I even try to remind [my son] Luke every now and then, when Jeff Gordon first got into Cup, the first year, what he have, thirteen clips? Front clips, total either front or rear clips. Then it just clicks. Hopefully – they’re investing a lot in that kid.”
Corey Day part of next generation of NASCAR drivers
If NASCAR continues to push boundaries with race events, fixes the Cup Series car/get a better car, and finds a suitable championship format for the future, there is a stable of star power waiting to take the sport by storm. We are already seeing it start to happen.
When it comes to future Cup Series talent, there is a wealth of it in the lower series right now. Connor Zilisch is the most obvious driver to point to. There are so many others, too.
Corey Day, Brent Crews, Jesse Love, Carson Kvapil, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, and others. You could throw in Rajah Caruth, Christian Eckes, Sam Mayer, and others. Go even younger and you have Tristan McKee, Keelan Harvick, and even Brexton Busch to look forward to.
These drivers are exciting, have passion, personalities, and are highly marketable. That is, if NASCAR wants to do it. The next five to ten years for NASCAR are crucial. All of the talent is there. Will it be the generation that propels stock car racing back into the mainstream?
