Corey Day earns first career NASCAR O'Reilly Series win

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Corey Day. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Corey Day earns first career NASCAR O'Reilly Series win at Talladega

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Apr 25, 2026 6:30 PM ET

Corey Day was out front when he needed to be.

Day won Saturday's Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, scoring his first career NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series win after he took the lead on the final lap and remained out front when the caution came out.

Day was racing with Sam Mayer for the lead with half a lap to go when Mayer was turned, allowing Day to pull ahead. A multi-car crash in turns 3 and 4 brought out the yellow, ending the race.

The win is the first for Hendrick Motorsports at Talladega in the O'Reilly Series.

COREY DAY IS A NASCAR O'REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES WINNER! pic.twitter.com/GqzuzaMzv2
— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) April 25, 2026

"I sure as hell didn't think it [first career win] would be at a superspeedway," Day told CW Sports. "My 17 guys just built me a rocketship. I feel like we've been close. It's super cool."

Day, a 20-year-old driver from Clovis, California, is the third driver to score his first NOAPS win in 2026 alongside Sheldon Creed and William Sawalich.

Notable results

Creed finished runner-up, with Brent Crews, Sammy Smith and Jeremy Clements rounding out the top five. Dean Thompson, polesitter Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, Parker Retzlaff and Austin Green completed the top 10.

Other notable finishers include Carson Kvapil in 22nd, Justin Allgaier in 23rd, Mayer in 24th, Jeb Burton in 25th, Sawalich in 28th and Rajah Caruth in 30th.

Kvapil and Allgaier were penalized for impeding the oncoming pack after the final round of green-flag pit stops, while Sawalich and Caruth received pit-road speeding penalties in the final stage.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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