Corey Day Lands Multi-Year Driving Deal With Hendrick

Corey Day (Hendrick Motorsports photo)

CONCORD, N.C. – Vaunted dirt racing star Corey Day is officially taking the next step in his transition toward a full-time pavement career in NASCAR.

The Clovis, Calif., teenager has inked a multi-year driving deal with Hendrick Motorsports, the winingest team in NASCAR Cup Series history led by hall-of-fame team owner Rick Hendrick.

Day officially signed the agreement on Dec. 6, a week after his 19th birthday, and will compete in nearly 30 races this year across the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series platform, and the Trans-Am Series with HMS and its affiliate teams.

HendrickCars.com, the online sales arm of Hendrick Automotive Group, will back Day in his racing efforts across all four divisions throughout the season.

Twelve of the events on Day’s schedule will be facilitated by Spire Motorsports, which will field Chevrolets for Day in eight Truck Series and four ARCA races.

“When Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon say someone is the real deal, it certainly gets your attention,” said Hendrick. “Corey comes from a great racing family and in a short time has shown a level of talent that sets him apart. What he’s already accomplished at this point in his career speaks volumes, and it’s been impressive to see how quickly he’s adapted to pavement. We’re excited to welcome him to our team.”

“This is a dream scenario,” Day said. “I’m grateful to Mr. Hendrick and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group for providing a platform to grow and compete at this level. There’s still a lot to learn on pavement, but having such incredible support gives me a ton of confidence. I’m ready to work hard and take in as much as I can. It’s going to be a fun year.”

Day’s dirt acumen came as no surprise, as he followed his father Ronnie’s footsteps into racing and quickly built an impressive résumé, including rookie-of-the-year honors at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in 2022 and both the NARC-King of the West Sprint Car Series championship and a Gold Cup Race of Champions win with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series in 2023.

Last year, Day competed full time with Kubota High Limit Racing and added select World of Outlaws starts as well, compiling 10 wins, 25 top-five and 44 top-10 finishes in 73 starts on dirt.

Among Day’s high points during the dirt season were his first win at historic Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway, as well as a USAC national midget victory in the 83rd running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix, becoming the youngest-ever winner of the third-oldest automobile race in the United States.

He also made his pavement debut in impressive fashion, winning at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway in just his second late model feature start last April before adding four ARCA and four Truck Series starts later in the season.

Day finished fourth in the national ARCA Menards Series speedway finale at Kansas Speedway in September and posted a best Truck Series finish of 16th at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway in October.

What are the possibilities for the teenager as he begins to tread down the path of a potential NASCAR future?

“Hopefully, the sky can be the limit if more opportunities present themselves,” Day told Motorsports Hotspot following his final Truck Series start of 2024 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in November.

“But the first goal on pavement is continuing to learn as much as possible and building a notebook, and if we can do that, the results should follow given time and experience.”