Another race, another stunning drive by Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day.
The 20-year-old driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet parked his race car in Victory Lane for the fourth time this season in Sunday’s postponed Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, after a gutsy three-wide move on the race’s final restart that allowed him to take control of the race back from Jesse Love and Justin Allgaier.
Day started Sunday’s 300-mile contest from the pole (after practice and qualifying was canceled on Saturday, and the starting lineup was set by NASCAR’s metric) and paced the field for the opening stage of the race, collecting 10 valuable points. But on the first set of pit stops, a safety violation required the No. 17 to drop to the tail of the longest line.
Although the HendrickCars.com-sponsored machine quickly made its way back into the top-10, it took Day most of the evening to get himself back into contention for a top-three finish. The final stage had things shaping up to be a battle between Day, Love, and Allgaier, until a late caution allowed for a daring move on a late-race restart.
Day, as he’s proven is his forte, took the risky move, jetted into the lead and drove to the victory – his fourth NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of 2026.
“Man, I don’t know,” Day said about making up incredible ground on the final restart. “The No. 2 got really loose from what I could see up there in front of the No. 7 and I think that messed them both up enough for me to get a good run off, and take my run, and that was crucial – I don’t think if I don’t do that, then I don’t win the race.”
The victory moves Day from fifth to third in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series point standings, just seventh points behind leader Sheldon Creed heading to Phoenix Raceway.
Jesse Love, just like at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, finished in the runner-up position. Sheldon Creed got to the line in third-place, beating out Justin Allgaier in a drag race to the line. Rounding out the top-five, in the No. 32 for Jordan Anderson Racing, was Carson Brown, making his second career start in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Brandon Jones was the highest-finishing Toyota in sixth, with Austin Hill in seventh, Anthony Alfredo eighth, Taylor Gray ninth, and Brennan Poole rounding out the top-10 for Alpha Prime Racing. Parker Retzlaff finished 12th, with other chasers Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer in 16th and 24th.
Carson Kvapil and Rajah Caruth both ran into significant issues during the final stage of Sunday’s event, leaving them to finish a disappointing 32nd and 36th.
Leaving Charlotte, Sheldon Creed holds a two-point advantage in the points over defending NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love. Corey Day is third in points, with Justin Allgaier sitting in fourth (-15) with four races left on the season.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series makes one final trip to the West Coast next weekend for the Timberland PRO 200 at Phoenix Raceway. Coverage of the event will take place on Saturday, October 17 at 7:30 PM ET on The CW.
