“He’s never afraid to try things”: Jeff Gordon praises Corey Day as Hendrick Motorsports reveals major plans for 2026 NASCAR season

Former Cup champion Jeff Gordon had some long praise for Corey Day, who is set to join the team full-time in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series next season. The 19-year-old will compete in the No. 17 Chevy with crew chief Adam Wall.

Hendrick signed Day to a multi-year deal in late 2024 and spent 2025 preparing him with part-time stints in the Xfinity, Truck, ARCA, and Trans-Am series. Day ran 11 Xfinity starts and secured a career-best fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He also made nine Truck Series starts with Spire Motorsports and made a runner-up spot at Lucas Oil Raceway in July.

Meanwhile, Hendrick will return to a first full-time entry in NASCAR's second-tier series after about two decades in 2026. The team vice chairman, Gordon, commented on taking on dirt driver, Corey Day, saying:

"Every race that Corey has been in, he's the first guy to start searching for different lines and different ways to pass. He's never afraid to try things. I think that's what gravitates us towards a dirt driver. That's a skill set that you can't teach people. They have to get that experience, and usually it's on dirt that they learn that. Once you learn that, you're going to adapt to pavement and other types of cars."

Wall, who has won two races, nine top-5s, and 10 top-10s this season, will remain crew chief for Day's No. 17 team.

"Did a good enough job" - Corey Day on full-time schedule with Hendrick Motorsports

This season, Corey Day collected two top 10s and finished on the lead lap in 10 of 11 Xfinity races. He shared that his contract with Hendrick had an option for a full-time season, and he was glad that the team picked that.

"That was what I was working towards this year. It wasn't announced or anything, but my contract was written as next year was an option if this year went well. I guess I did a good enough job to get that option picked up," Corey day said, via NASCAR. "To say I'm going to run a NASCAR series full-time next year is something I've dreamed about doing since I was a little kid. It's really cool," he added.

Day also won more than 10 times in 2024 across dirt series. He won marquee events, including the Turkey Night Grand Prix, which made him the youngest ever winner of that. He also collected a World of Outlaws Gold Cup win this year.

The 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts season will open on February 14 at Daytona International Speedway.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam