From Australia To The Chili Bowl, Corey Day's Star Is Rising

From Australia to the Chili Bowl and beyond, Corey Day's star is rising in the world of motorsports.

Jan 17, 2026 by Brandon Paul

Day Ready For Chili Bowl Prelim After Crash

TULSA, Okla.—No doubt, Corey Day’s star is rising.

After winning back-to-back Turkey Night Grand Prix features at Ventura Raceway, the 20-year-old Clovis, Californian rode that wave of momentum Down Under to Perth Motorplex a month later and thrilled Australian fans on Boxing Day, racing from 28th to second.

Day backed up his brilliant performance by winning the first night of High Limit International two days later. As the week rolled on, the fans had renamed a portion of the 1/3-mile Perth dirt palace: Corey’s Corner.

“It's really cool,” Day said last month during his first trip to Australia. “The fans over here are awesome. You can just tell and feel the love they have for Sprint car racing. And, at the end of the day, I'm a Sprint car fan, too. I grew up going to the races and watching my dad (Ronnie). I was a fan before I was a race car driver.

“So yeah, it's awesome to see their love for it, and it's super cool to put on a good show for them and see it appreciated.”

As the High Limit International points leader entering the Dec. 30 finale, Perth Motorplex played into Day’s rising popularity by giving him a grand entrance into driver introductions via helicopter—the young racer’s first flight in that style of aircraft. And the crowd ate it up.

Earlier that afternoon, a video of Day’s father Ronnie winning a race at Claremont Speedway, 20 miles north of the Motorplex, three decades earlier further endeared the young driver to the fans.

Prior to Wednesday’s preliminary night at the Chili Bowl Nationals, Day said the Australian fans’ support was surprising at first but ultimately fueled his run.

“You go to Pennsylvania here in the States and if you’re not a local Pennsylvania guy, you’re not liked by the fans,” Day said. “So I was really curious how that was going to be in Australia, if they were going to kind of be that same way or if they're going to be welcoming?

“And they were more than welcoming. So as a driver, that's super cool to just feel the love from the fans. It makes you want to put on a better show for them.”

Day understands performance is key to earning the audience’s respect—a trend he hopes to continue in Tulsa.

“No one cares if you run second, right? Like you’ve got to win if you want the fans,” Day said. “And there are a lot of things that you can do off the track, too. There are a lot of guys now that are really good. They have a good fan base, but they might be a little fake outside of the race cars.

“So I try and keep it real and just be myself. And if the fans like me for being myself, that's cool.”

Day debuted at the Tulsa Expo in 2022. He finished second in his prelim qualifier and ninth in the feature, On Saturday, the rookie finished 17th. Two years later, Day won his prelim night and finished a career-best third in the main event behind fellow Californians Logan Seavey and Buddy Kofoid.

On Wednesday, Day won Heat 1, finished fourth in Qualifier 3, and sixth in the preliminary feature. He’ll have to battle from the B-Main on Saturday to advance to the A-feature.

Before he left for Australia, Day spent most of the offseason at home in California. Certainly, 2025 was a transitional year between NASCAR and his dirt endeavors.

As a development driver for Hendrick Motorsports, Day competed in 20 races between the NASCAR trucks and Xfinity tours in 2025. He won the pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his first truck start of the season—then went across the parking lot and won the High Limit opener at The Dirt Track the next night. Day’s best truck result was second at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

His 11 NXS starts were highlighted by two top 10s, including a fourth-place result at LVMS. Finding balance between life and racing is a challenge for any young driver.

“It was a long year last year, whole new adventure for me and moved across the country,” Day said. “So I wanted to go home and see my family and my friends and relax and recharge the batteries. I don't think a lot of people talk about it, but It's very easy to get burnt out in this sport, just racing all the time. I think Kyle (Larson) and I are probably the only two that really run a schedule like we do with doing so much pavement and so much dirt.

“This year I have 38 sprint car races along with 33 O'Reilly's Auto Parts Series races. So yeah, just getting home and getting the batteries recharged is big for me. It may not be for other guys, but it's always been big for me.”

Day has leaned on Larson for advice on juggling the schedule. Before Chili Bowl, he returned to Charlotte to tie up contractual obligations and spend time with the No. 17 Hendrick team and crew chief Adam Wall. Once Chili Bowl concludes, Day will return to North Carolina. He understands the responsibility of being the first full-time Hendrick Motorsports driver outside of Cup since Kyle Busch in 2006.

But that’s the belief team owner Rick Hendrick has in his young prospect. He was impressed with how quickly Day is adapting to stock cars.

“He’ll go into 2026 with less pavement experience than anyone in the field, but you’d never know it by watching him drive,” Hendrick said. “The instincts and raw talent are off the charts, and he’s going to keep getting better with more seat time. Corey has a tremendous future, and we’re proud to have him represent HendrickCars.com.”