Corey Day has finally found the conference room and is less than three minutes into this interview when his phone rings. He picks it up, looks at the screen and quickly shows it to everyone else.
“Chad Knaus,” reads the screen, as in, seven-time champion and now vice president of competition at Hendrick Motorsports. Day hands the phone to his PR rep, Ashly Ennis, who takes the call and laughs when Knaus asks why Day walked into his office only to turn around and walk out.
Well, that goes back to the moment mentioned above when Day was looking for the conference room. Day is the youngest (19) and newest driver in the Hendrick Motorsports lineup. He was signed in December and is still learning the organization’s campus, and NASCAR.
“It is fish out of water, for sure,” Day told ESPN. “I still feel like I’m a little out of place, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I know what goes on, but not to the extent that I do in the sprint car world, which is what I’m used to and did for the past eight years of my life. So, this is definitely a change, and there are many differences.”
The transition from dirt to pavement is challenging for many reasons. Day is learning his way around the Hendrick campus, NASCAR garages, different race cars and a calendar. He never had that last one before, claiming he didn’t need one with his previous life so simple, but he has found one is part of being a NASCAR driver with real-world responsibilities.
“This does feel like a job,” Day said. “Before, I was racing on the weekends, and if I won and made some money, cool. If I didn’t, oh well. I look back to all the sprint car races I did last year, and I realize that now, not that I’m stressed out or overstimulated, but I’m thinking about this way more. Last year, whatever happened, happened. With this, I want to win, and it’s a lot harder to win here.”
On Day’s calendar are nearly 30 pavement races. He will compete in NASCAR national series events in the Craftsman Truck and Xfinity Series, as well as the ARCA Menards Series and Trans Am Series. And, yes, he’s still running on dirt.
Day will get his fill of learning NASCAR while NASCAR and its fans learn about him. Hendrick Motorsports signed the California native, considered a rising star or top prospect, just after his 18th birthday and with only four stock car and four Truck Series starts to his name.
The organization, however, doesn’t have a development program. That means that if Hendrick Motorsports believes in someone’s talent, that person is signed to a driver contract and given an opportunity.
“I don’t feel like there’s pressure in the sense that I have to do everything right or I’m going to get fired,” Day said. “I do feel like there is pressure to perform. I’ve never been in this position before with the praise of Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larson.”
Gordon, a four-time Cup Series champion, and Larson, the 2021 champion, led to Day’s signing. Both drivers have dirt backgrounds, and Larson, who still races on dirt, regularly competes against Day.
“When Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon say someone is the real deal, it certainly gets your attention,” said Rick Hendrick when Day was signed.
And for Day, “When Jeff Gordon asks you if you want to come drive a stock car, you’re not really going to say no.”
NASCAR had been a pipe dream for Day. As someone without a pavement background and from a family that races sprint cars, there was no realistic path — that Day saw — leading to competing on Sundays. His dream was to become a World of Outlaws champion.
“That was as high as it went,” Day said. “I watched NASCAR and kept up, and thought it would be cool to do one day, but it was a fantasy. … I guess, luckily, Jeff Gordon paid attention, and [Hendrick Motorsports general manager] Jeff Andrews, being from Fresno [California] … paid attention to me, and so did Kyle [Larson] because I was racing with him. The stars aligned.”
Day is fully immersed as a Hendrick Motorsports driver. In addition to his driver responsibilities, he also observes the Cup Series teams and drivers, attending practice and debriefs at the racetrack.
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway from March 13 to 16, Day was entered in the Truck Series race and two High Limit sprint car events. On the Thursday night, he set the quick time for the dirt event. On Friday, the plan was to run the Truck Series race and then the dirt race, which had been postponed from the previous night.
He went out and won the pole for the Truck Series race. On the grid before the race was Larson, offering advice until the minute Day climbed behind the wheel. At one point, Larson even prodded Day’s parents, asking, “Are you nervous?”
Day finished 27th, and the dirt race wound up canceled due to unfavorable weather conditions. The weekend wasn’t over, though; Day spent Saturday with the Cup teams and then won the dirt race that night.
Las Vegas gave way to preparation for the March 28-29 events at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. Once again entered in the Craftsman Truck Series race, Day also made his Xfinity Series debut. An on-track incident in the Truck Series race left him in 32nd. He qualified eighth for his Xfinity Series debut, was met by three Chevrolet executives on the starting grid, and then finished 21st after rebounding from a spin.
“There is a lot — on and off the track,” Day said of his pavement experiences. “The races are way longer. There is the variable of pit road. There is so much [more] that goes into a race — before the race, during the week and at the racetrack — than what I’ve been used to. Off the track, there is a lot that goes on preparing with the team, interviews and going to the gym.
“In racing dirt, I would hang out during the week, maybe hang out with the team once or twice, and go race. It was way more low-key than this. It’s not a bad thing that this isn’t low-key because I feel way more connected with what I’m doing because I’m so much more involved.”
By the end of a busy year, Day has a simple hope.
“I want to feel that I am, not supposed to be here, but that I know what I’m doing and can do it with my eyes closed,” he said. “I want to win. Bottom line, I want to win. I can run second and I’ll be just as mad if I ran 30th. What drives me in this sport is to win, so I’m going to do whatever I can do to make that happen.”
It would not be surprising if Day accomplished his goal. After all, he’s got the support and sits under the learning tree of the winningest organization in NASCAR Cup Series history.
To a familiar mixture of cheers and boos, Denny Hamlin climbed onto his No. 11 Toyota’s doorsill and unfurled a blue flag emblazoned with “11 Against The World.”
Waving it at the Martinsville Speedway crowd, Hamlin seemed to be celebrating his 55th Cup Series victory on Sunday while also taunting those who thought he was done winning on NASCAR’s premier circuit.
“That’s me,” he said, adding that if he can’t trash-talk, it takes away his superpower. “I’m not nearly as good. My friends, it drives them absolutely crazy. It fuels me and it just makes me feel good. … I love when someone says I can’t do it, going out there and doing it.”
For Hamlin, the triumphs often come amid turbulence, and the adversity (some self-induced) has been plentiful lately.
He and 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan are embroiled in a lawsuit against NASCAR that has dragged on for six months and might remain unresolved through the end of the year.
His team started the season hunting for a primary sponsor to replace FedEx, which left after 20 seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing.
And the victory at Martinsville (the Virginia track a few hours west of his hometown of Chesterfield, a Richmond suburb) snapped two long droughts for Hamlin — a 31-race skid without a victory and a 10-year winless streak at the 0.526-mile oval where his six wins are more than any active Cup driver.
Tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 11th on the all-time win list won’t solve his legal battles. But the self-described “King of Irrational Confidence” reveled in dominating Martinsville with the speed of a championship contender after facing questions since last year about whether the 44-year-old’s two-decade quest for a title had turned pointless.
“I know that when I got the car to do it, I can be the best,” Hamlin said. “I haven’t felt like I’ve held back the car at any point. Certainly, I’m not immune to understanding that Father Time is undefeated. Everything that I need to be good to be a race car driver is still really sharp.”
Crew chief Chris Gayle, who won in his seventh race since being paired with Hamlin, has been surprised by his new driver’s work ethic. Late into Saturday night before Martinsville, Hamlin was texting Gayle about his car while poring over throttle and braking data from the October 2022 race (the last time he felt dominant at the track).
“As he’s gotten older, he’s had to almost ramp up the amount of work he’s done,” Gayle said. “He may have gotten by earlier without doing that. He’s with us in the simulator at least six to seven hours a week. He does that to be a part of the team. That speaks to where his head’s at at this age.”
Team owner Joe Gibbs said Hamlin spends more time in the simulator than his three teammates — all of whom are at least 14 years younger — and the Hall of Fame football coach wants to keep his veteran leader for the long term.
“The one thing I’ve learned about athletes, the ones that really have it and are special, you better be careful about anything early,” Gibbs said about determining when it’s time to hang it up. “Let them go. So we’re going to ride Denny for as long as we can.”
Hamlin smiled when told Wallace never won again after his 55th victory in March 2004 at Martinsville. Wallace retired from Cup the next season.
“I won’t feel bad to break his 55 record when I do,” Hamlin said, adding that his retirement was “a long way away.”
Rough racing
NASCAR officials are reviewing the controversial Xfinity finish at Martinsville Speedway to determine if drivers will be punished in its midweek penalty report. Sammy Smith admitted he intentionally wrecked Taylor Gray from the lead in Turn 3 on the final lap, causing a multicar crash. Gray earlier had bumped Smith from the lead.
Hamlin was among several who called out the poor driving and sportsmanship, and he planned to address it further in his weekly “Actions Detrimental” podcast.
“I think the sanctioning body needs to get involved a little bit and step in on egregious things,” Hamlin said. “It was just horrible driving by most of the people. It’s just not a good look. You shouldn’t be able to just wipe someone out. We have a black flag for a reason. We should start using it.”
Executive moves
NASCAR named president Steve Phelps as its new commissioner overseeing all aspects of NASCAR, the IMSA sports car series and the 15 tracks owned or operated by NASCAR. Though NASCAR once had a stock car racing commissioner who handled penalty appeals, the sanctioning body is billing Phelps as the first with the expanded responsibilities of the newly created role.
“We are thrilled to name Steve Phelps as NASCAR’s first commissioner,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “His leadership, professionalism and well-earned respect from across the sports industry speak to his unique value for the sport.”
Steve O’Donnell will move from NASCAR’s chief operating officer to replace Phelps as president and handle daily oversight of its three national series and its commercial, media and track operations.
