Hendrick Motorsports knows how to find talent in NASCAR. The four-car Chevrolet powerhouse has always been — year-in and year-out — the one team guaranteed to have at least one driver fighting for a championship.
But the team has not had in-house prospects in nearly two decades. Until now. Hendrick’s last full-time driver in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series was the late Kyle Busch, back in 2006. The team’s entire program shut down after the 2009 season-opener at Daytona with Tony Stewart, which of course, was a win.
Hendrick restarted its O’Reilly program, slowly but surely, in 2022 thanks to its partnership with JR Motorsports. The No. 17 team began to compete in more races each year, finally going full-time racing in 2026 with dirt racing sensation Corey Day at the helm.
“It’s been a pretty good year so far,” Day said. “We progressed a lot faster through things than I kind of expected at the start of the year, which is good. I think we’re in good form to be ready for the Chase.”
Day, who is only 20 years old, has taken the O’Reilly Series by storm. With two wins through 21 races in 2026, he sits fourth in the standings. If it weren’t for some early season mishaps and bad luck scattered throughout the year, he would likely be fighting for second in points.
“In this sport and in racing in general, your emotions are all over the place with stuff that happens like at San Diego,” Day said. “There’s stuff that happens that’s out of your control. At Atlanta, the lane stacks up and your day is over in the blink of an eye. I try my best to stay as level-headed as possible. On any given race, it can be your day and you can win, or it won’t be and you have to stay as level-headed as possible and accept that. There’s going to be days where you feel like you could have and should have won, but you end up not winning or it just didn’t go your way.”
Corey Day’s Early Success
Hendrick Motorsports likely found a gem in Day. Discovered by two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, the sprint car racing ace is adjusting to life in stock cars.
Day first began racing in the bulkier, heavier cars in 2024, getting his feet wet in the ARCA Menards Series and in the Craftsman Truck Series.
He began to see results early on, fighting for top fives with Spire Motorsports in the Truck Series and with Hendrick in the O’Reilly Series.
Though Day may have ruffled some feathers early in the 2026 season, he settled into his seat quite nicely. He’s been leading laps every few weeks, highlighted by 118 laps led at Rockingham. Of course, his two victories at Talladega and Dover are certainly the highlight of his year thus far.
“It was super important,” Day said of his two victories. “Getting your first win out of the way makes the ones to come a lot easier. It was good to get those two out of the way.”
Corey Day’s Mentors
Day is surrounded by incredible mentors. He recognizes that few young racers are blessed to be surrounded by champions, such as Larson, team owner Rick Hendrick himself, and Vice President of Competition and four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon.
“I never thought I’d get to race in NASCAR, much less with the best team in NASCAR,” Day said. “I don’t take that for granted. I enjoy every day I get to race these things. I have the best job in the world, in my opinion, and I’m with the best team. It means a lot to be that guy who was chosen to do that.”
And if Day can capture the title in his rookie season, it would certainly be one for the history books.
Day concluded: “It would be crazy. At the start of the year, I just wanted to make the Chase and be in the top 12. If I had a win, that would be even better. Well, we’re in the top five in points with two wins so far [as of mid-July]. There’s a long way to go to that, for sure. A lot of these guys are on it right now compared to the beginning of the year. It’s going to be tough, without a doubt, but I think my team is capable. I just have to do my part.”
Corey Day Navigates Life As Hendrick Motorsports’ Future NASCAR Star