Day Searching For More After Puzzling Wednesday In Tulsa

Corey Day (41) battles Jake Swanson Wednesday at Tulsa (Okla.) Expo Raceway. (David Campbell/DPC Media photo)

TULSA, Okla. – He put in a yeoman’s effort, but things didn’t quite fall Corey Day’s way Wednesday to give the California teenager a guaranteed spot in his third Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink championship finale.

Driving for veteran car owner Willie Kahne, Day had a solid showing on York Plumbing Qualifying Night, but not a stellar one. A heat race win from second and a third-to-second run in his A-Qualifier put the 19-year-old eighth in the feature lineup, where traffic simply wasn’t his forte over the course of 30 laps.

Day started off strong, jumping from eighth to fifth in the first two laps as attrition struck early around him, and got to third by the halfway point when a caution waved for the upside-down car of Taylor Reimer.

But that was as far as the Clovis, Calif., native got. He hoped to challenge eventual top-two finishers Emerson Axsom and Daison Pursley for one of the Saturday lock-in spots during the second half of the race, but could never get close enough to set up a move despite finishing on the podium.

“The top just really lifted up and got treacherous there,” said the 2024 Wednesday night winner, who will roll from the front of a B-main Saturday in hopes of racing his way into the grand finale.

“I was trying to make some (in-race) adjustments to the right-rear shock, but I guess something hit it early on and the adjuster cable wasn’t hooked up at all,” he added. “Late in the going, we just got around a bunch of lap cars, and it wouldn’t do me any good to hammer up to their bumpers because they were all running low and I couldn’t slide any of them.

“We really needed a yellow, but for how our night started car-wise, we definitely got closer there in the main to where we need to be. We just still need a little bit more to contend for the big one.”

Unlike his run to victory in last year’s prelim night program, this night felt a little different for Day and company. After finishing 1.184 seconds adrift of winner Axsom, Day struggled to put his finger on exactly why.

“It’s just been tough for me this whole past year,” admitted Day. “I don’t know exactly what’s been going on, but even on the sprint car side of things, we’d go somewhere and be really good … and then go back there, try to do the same thing again, and whatever we did just would not work the second time.

“I’m a little frustrated with a lack of really knowing what to do,” he continued. “I feel like every time we try to fix our tight problem, where we’re flying the nose (of the car), we’re just losing all grip. I’d rather have grip and fly the nose and have to control it … but it’s definitely challenging and puzzling, not knowing exactly what to do to get ourselves that last little bit (of speed) that we’re looking for.”

Regardless of the current situation, the recently minted Hendrick Motorsports development driver isn’t lacking in belief that he can overcome and contend for victory in primetime Saturday night.

After all, Day swore coming into the week that he wasn’t leaving the SageNet Center without the Golden Driller.

“Knowing I’m heading on to (predominately) pavement this year, I want that win bad,” Day noted. “We’re not quite there right now, but I’m glad we’ll have 20 laps in the B-main Saturday to try a few things and get better.

“You’d always like to have a great race car and be locked in, like I did last year, but it doesn’t always work that way.”

Action from the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink continues Thursday with Hasty-Bake Qualifying Night from Tulsa Expo Raceway, while Kofoid’s next on-track action will be Saturday’s primetime portion of the alphabet soup program.

Every lap of Chili Bowl week is available to be streamed through FloRacing.

Race Face Digital’s Chili Bowl coverage is supported by DPC Media, home of longtime motorsports and automotive photographer David Campbell. To purchase DPC apparel or order photos from Chili Bowl 2025, visit www.seemymind.com for more information.