Corey Day’s championship bid took a major hit on Lap 9 of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series finale after contact with Rajah Caruth at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Day started the night 23 points behind leader Justin Allgaier, and with the No. 17 Chevrolet now four laps down, the question is whether any path to the title remains.
The wreck came early in the 200-lap, 300-mile season finale. Day started seventh and Caruth 13th, but by Lap 9 they were racing side-by-side.
Day pulled alongside Caruth on the inside and drifted up the track. He had not cleared the No. 88 yet. The contact sent Day into the outside wall, according to reporter Jacob Seelman.
The No. 17 then spun through the Turn 3 grass and stopped there, bringing out the caution. Both cars absorbed heavy damage. No injuries had been reported in early coverage.
Day got back on track. The right front splitter was under the tire, which explains his steering trouble, according to reporter Bob Pockrass.
“Corey Day is back on track with a missing front right fender and 17 laps down,” CW Sports reported at about 5:40 p.m. ET.
Watch video of the Day-Caruth crash, below.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Corey Day Championship Hopes After Crash
Day began the finale third in the Chase standings at 2,413 points, one behind Jesse Love (2,414) and 23 behind Allgaier (2,436). Carson Kvapil (2,405) and Sheldon Creed (2,394) rounded out the top five.
Closing that gap demanded a near-perfect night. A win pays 55 points under the 2026 Chase format, second place earns 35, and each spot after that is worth one point less. Stage points add up to 20 more, and a fastest-lap point puts the ceiling at 76.
Day needed a win plus stage points to overtake Allgaier. Reporters on site called the damage the end of his realistic title chances. Official points arrive only when the race ends.
Day, 20, is a Clovis, California, native and son of sprint car racer Ronnie Day. He climbed through micro sprints and sprint cars on dirt, winning a King of the West title and the Turkey Night Grand Prix, before Hendrick Motorsports brought him to pavement. After 11 O’Reilly starts in 2025, he went full-time this year, Hendrick’s first full-season O’Reilly effort in roughly 20 years.
He carried four wins, 12 top-fives, 22 top-10s and two poles into the finale, with the victories coming at Talladega, Dover, Las Vegas and Charlotte. His route to the top mirrors that of Hendrick teammate and fellow Californian Kyle Larson.
JR Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth Season and 2027 Plans
Caruth, 24, was born in Atlanta and raised in Brooklyn and Washington, D.C. He came up through iRacing, NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, Late Models and ARCA before the Truck Series, where he won twice, including at Las Vegas in 2024.
In his first full O’Reilly season, Caruth split time between JR Motorsports’ No. 88 and Jordan Anderson Racing’s No. 32, posting two top-fives, nine top-10s and a pole. He clinched the last Chase berth at Daytona on Aug. 28 despite a late wreck that badly damaged the No. 88.
Caruth took the berth in spite of the wreck, saying “we’re racing for a championship, so can’t ask for more,” according to NASCAR.com. He entered Homestead 12th among the 12 Chase drivers, 231 points behind Allgaier.
Caruth and Love had tangled on a Dover restart on May 16, their third run-in of the season. JR Motorsports will bring Caruth back full-time in 2027.
How many more laps the No. 17 gives up, and what that does to Day’s points total, remains to be determined.
Corey Day NASCAR Crash Caught on Video: Watch O’Reilly Series Contender Debacle