By Mike Mallett
KOKOMO, Ind: Everyone likes to make a good first impression. For Corey Day, mission accomplished.
The 17-year-old California native’s debut aboard the Clauson-Marshall Racing No. 7BC as a fill-in driver for the injured Tyler Courtney can be seen as nothing other than a success. He didn’t win, but he was in the hunt and showed the talent that has made him a breakout star on the West Coast.
He ended the night fourth in the High Limit Racing Series event at Kokomo Speedway. Earlier in the night, he went toe-to-toe with Kyle Larson in the Dash and did something not a lot of people can say they’ve done: he came out on top.
In the feature, things didn’t fall Day’s way, but he did lead some laps and finish behind three of the best sprint drivers in the country right now: Justin Peck, Kyle Larson, and Rico Abreu. He learned a lot and impressed while doing so.
“This is my second night ever with this series and my first night in the car, so I really can’t complain about getting beat by Larson, Rico, and Peck, but I definitely would have liked to at least run in the top three there,” said Day. “Man, those guys’ pace is just crazy compared to what I’m used to running. I could run it there for eight laps in the dash with Larson, but not really for 35.”
“Big hats off to Jake, Luke, Cam, and just everyone involved in this deal for choosing me to fill in and for working so hard to get me comfortable the first night in the car. Like I said, to run fourth first night out, there’s nothing to hang our heads about; I just always want to be better.”
Up until Tuesday, Day had spent the season piloting a car owned by Jason Meyers. He’s won a lot of races in that car this season. Tuesday night, he hopped into a new car, and he looked like he belonged. If it was challenging, you wouldn’t know from the outside looking in.
“It’s just different,” he said. “Different car wise, motor wise, runs a little bit different, so you know that was a little bit of it. It was different, but it wasn’t bad. When the race car is good, it doesn’t matter if it’s different, how different it is, or how different it isn’t; it always makes my job in the seat easier.”
In the 35-lap A-Main, Day again got the drop on Larson, leading the opening laps. He set the pace until a lap eight restart doubled up the field, placing Larson next to him for the green.
Day wasn’t as fortunate this time, as Larson used a slide job to take the lead in turns three and four. Still, the 17-year-old California phenom stayed close and remained in contention.
“Larson got me on that restart there,” he said. “That very first one, I was able to just kind of get up to the cushion and drive away and be conservative with the race leading. It just wasn’t the case; he kind of turned it up the second time. I just have to get used to running that pace.”
After giving up second on Lap 16, Day fell back as far as fourth. He didn’t give up, he kept digging and worked the treacherous high lane all the way around the speedway. That helped him move back onto the podium behind Peck and Larson.
He got one last shot at the pair when caution was displayed with 33 laps complete. At the green, Day tucked down to the bottom of the track, as both Peck and Larson went to the top. He was taking his shot.
“In my head, watching Larson all the time, I figured he would be sliding Peck or they’d get racing in one and two,” said Day. “I didn’t want to be stacked up behind them there on the top of one and two if they did race real hard or slide each other and make contact.
“I was like, ‘if they do that, and I can stick the bottom and maybe drive by both of them,’ but that wasn’t the case. Larson didn’t slide him, to my surprise. That’s where I got to use better judgment on my part.”
Going to the bottom left him vulnerable to someone on the high side. That someone was Abreu, who pulled alongside Day going down the backstretch and beat him to turn three. Day went for the slider; it wasn’t there. He backed out of it rather than wreck two cars, and he ended up in the wall and limped home in fourth.
“I had a good run down the back straightaway in the grip, and I didn’t want to kill him,” said Day. “I went hard to the center there, and I knew he’d be coming around me. I had to whoa the thing up. I just had too much speed and not enough wheel spin.
“When I caught the curb, I jumped over the curb and stuck my right front in the wall. Luckily, I was able to get across the line still in fourth.”
In the trailer afterwards, everyone was all smiles, even though they had to be towed in with a damaged race car. He wanted the win. It didn’t happen, but he did leave a good first impression. That’s never a bad thing.