Rick Hendrick-backed Corey Day reflects on the “big adjustments” transitioning to professional racing
Driver Corey Day, who signed with Rick Hendrick's racing organization earlier this year, has opened up about the changes to his life ever since he made the jump to racing regularly at a professional level. The 19-year-old reflected on his week-to-week life, racing only on the weekends in previous years, as compared to now when he drives in the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series, which requires him to be more committed to the job.
Speaking on the Victory Lane podcast with Dave Segal, the Spire Motorsports Truck driver was asked how he's been adjusting to making racing his full-time career after only racing on weekends while having a regular life outside of it.
"Yeah, that's a big adjustment, for sure. Well, for a while there, I was good, but I was just racing in California, and I was still in high school, so I'd race on the weekends and hang out with my buddies all week and wouldn't think about racing till I was driving to the track on Friday. And you know, I think that was honestly - something that - I wish I could still be like that, 'cause now I think about so much more."
While reflecting upon the change to his lifestyle, the Rick Hendrick-backed driver admitted that it wasn't a bad thing. While he did miss the way he used to be able to have a work-life balance previously, he hoped to be able to achieve the same after spending some more time racing in NASCAR.
"I don't think its necessarily a bad thing, but I definitely do miss when I had a lot less going on. Just being able to show up to the racetrack and not have a care in the world besides winning the race. I'm hoping I can adapt that once I get more established here, get more used to the schedule, and just everything that goes on on a week-to-week basis."
This past year, after he signed with Rick Hendrick's team and HendrickCars.com in a sponsorship agreement for select Truck, Xfinity, and ARCA races this season, Corey Day has already seen some success at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway truck event in March, where he got the #7 truck onto pole position.
Rick Hendrick says Corey Day's pavement racing skills are "impressive"
Up until 2025, the Rick Hendrick-backed driver had spent most of his career competing on dirt tracks. In 2024, Corey Day raced full-time in the High Limit Series and competed in select World of Outlaws events, scoring 10 wins, 25 top-5, and 44 top-10 finishes out of 73 race starts. This year, he raced in four feature dirt races and scored a win at the High Limit Series event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
When Day signed with Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick shared some strong words of support for the young driver.
“Corey comes from a great racing family and in a short time has shown a level of talent that sets him apart. What he’s already accomplished at this point in his career speaks volumes, and it’s been impressive to see how quickly he’s adapted to pavement. We’re excited to welcome him to our team.” Hendrick said, via Hendrick Motorsports.
The next race Day will take part in is the Truck Series event, 'Black's Tire 200', at the Rockingham Speedway this Friday, April 18, at 5:00 p.m. ET.