The stock car world may have been given an introduction to its next big crossover star from the dirt track world last month. But if you weren’t paying close attention, you probably missed it.
Spoiler alert: It was 18-year old phenom Corey Day.
Flashback to Saturday, April 27. It was a quiet night in the southeast grassroots world. No CARS Tour event for the Late Model Stock Cars. No SMART Tour showdown for the Modifieds. Just NASCAR Weekly races, including a set of Twin 40’s at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Day snuck onto the entry list at Hickory on Saturday afternoon, listed next to a JR Motorsports No. 88 Late Model Stock. The news flew under the radar until a tweet from Dale Earnhardt Jr. around 8:30 p.m. ET blew up on X.
“There is a JR Motorsports Late Model at Hickory Motor Speedway tonight with Corey Day at the wheel on FloRacing,” Earnhardt posted. “Twin features. Local Classes.”
Day rolled from the 10th position in a field of 12 cars for the first of two 40-lap features at Hickory, putting in a solid 10th to seventh run in his asphalt debut. An eight-car invert put Day outside the front row for the second feature, a chance to showcase his talent from the front of the field.
And that’s what Day did. The young prospect put on a clinic from the second starting spot. He took the lead on lap two, led the final 39 laps and drove away without a challenge from the rest of the field.
The most intriguing part of the night came during Day’s post-race interview. Following the impressive victory, Day climbed from the JR Motorsports No. 88 wearing a fully-marked JR Motorsports fire suit, already stitched with his name.
What may have seemed like a fun, one-off opportunity on a High Limit Racing off week suddenly appeared to be a developing story, which has us thinking. Could Corey Day be JR Motorsports’ next Late Model prospect?
With the immediate success for Carson Kvapil in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he is more than likely on the fast track to a promotion, meaning the JR Motorsports Late Model program will have an open seat once again.
Day is one of the top young prospects in all of motorsports, with an impressive resume at just 18-years old. The then-17-year-old Day picked up his first World of Outlaws Sprint Car win in the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway back in September 2023.
Day secured a prelim night win at the 2024 Chili Bowl in January, before starting…
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