Kyle Larson Warns Rick Hendrick’s Budding “Kyle Larson 2.0” as Yung Money Grooms the Future of HMS

Corey Day took a major stride at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway by bagging his first career pole win in NASCAR. The Hendrick Motorsports development driver posted a time of 30.388 seconds driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado truck. Despite this massive achievement, the 19-year-old was feeling nervous, “I just haven’t had the most success at this stuff, it’s really been a struggle for me, so it’s pretty awesome to get a pole.”

Well, the joy didn’t last long as he settled for a measly P27 finish after the Truck Series race concluded at the mile-and-a-half track in Vegas. His best finish P16 came at Miami Homestead last year. The transition from dirt to pavement hasn’t been an easy one for the driver, despite Kyle Larson batting out for him. “When Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon say someone is the real deal, it certainly gets your attention,” Rick Hendrick said this while signing Day. Clearly, Mr. H was sold on the hype of Corey Day being the Kyle Larson 2.0 but, even the HMS star driver is skeptical about Day’s progress now.

This admission by Larson did come as a surprise as he was outpaced by Day in the Kubota High Limit Racing event on Saturday night in Vegas.

Raw Talent vs. Stock Car Reality—Can Corey Day Bridge the Gap?

The 19-year-old driver started the event outside of the pole position and was chasing down pole sitter Daryn Pittman. It looked as if Pittman would run away with the win after leading 23 laps but the No. 69 machine ran out of fuel and handed the lead to Day. On the final restart with five laps to go, Day was under pressure from his teammate Kyle Larson and others, but he was able to fend them off and take the checkered flag by a margin of 0.632 seconds. The California native after this win ranked third in the all-time wins list in the series, his tally stands at eight.

Although Larson was on the receiving end of things, he didn’t shy away from speaking his heart when asked about Day’s progress on the pavement. “He needs to do a lot better on this pavement stuff currently but no I mean it’s nice to have him as a part of Hendrick Motorsports and He’s still so green into stock car racing. Hopefully, he’d get the hang of it here. It was fun getting into a battle with him every time in a sprint car race. So wish we could have been one spot better but honestly, we both got lucky with the 69k ran out of fuel.”  

For those claiming that Corey Day is his heir, Larson’s remarks are a sobering reminder of reality. Day has flourished on dirt, but racing stock cars has a distinct set of difficulties. The changeover is famously challenging since even the top sprint car drivers struggle with tire wear, aerodynamics, and race length. Day is scheduled to compete in select races in Xfinity, Trucks, ARCA, and Trans-AM Series with sponsorship from Hendrickcars.com. But, he’s not been able to flip the switch when it comes to oval tracks and stock car racing.

He hasn’t done that bad if we are to look at his starts early in the season. Day managed two top 10 finishes in ARCA and ARCA Series West races at Phoenix Raceway, and he finished twenty-second at the season opener ARCA race at Daytona. While he’s raced in the Trucks and ARCA events, his real test will be when he hops into an Xfinity Series car. It will be his true test of how he might fare in high-pressure situations at Sunday’s blockbuster races.

It’s important to note that Rajah Caruth also has the backing of Rick Hendrick’s sponsorship and is holding his own in the Truck Series. The driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports truck has a win to his name and made his way to the playoffs, finishing off the 2024 campaign 7th in the driver’s standings. So Corey Day is going to be compared with Caruth, especially after being touted as the next big thing in NASCAR.

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From Outlaws to Ovals: Corey Day’s Biggest Test Yet

Top NASCAR drivers like Tony Stewart, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson have come from dirt racing. Corey Day now aspires to walk in their footsteps. Although he has excelled on dirt, there is no proof that he can be successful on pavement. At the age of 19, Corey Day is already a dominant force in sprint car racing, with his aggressiveness, adaptability, and car control earning him parallels to Kyle Larson. According to Larson, he is “the best prospect out there.”

Even Kyle Larson found the learning curve in NASCAR, from aerodynamics to tire management, challenging. Larson cautions that skill by itself won’t ensure success, even though Rick Hendrick views Day as a top potential. Day is being eased into stock cars by Hendrick, while his No. 17 Xfinity Series runs are being managed by crew chief Adam Wall.

Day himself acknowledges the learning curve ahead. “It’s a lot different than what I’m used to doing… but it was really good to get laps (in 2024) and at least not be completely fresh next year with such a big year ahead of me”. While he’s proven himself in limited pavement starts, the true test will come when he competes against seasoned NASCAR veterans.

Since Hendrick Motorsports usually signs drivers with experience, their investment in Corey Day is noteworthy. Corey Day is being prepared for Cup Series success by Hendrick Motorsports, but he needs to establish himself as one of the best up-and-coming drivers. Despite his skill and elite support, NASCAR’s past demonstrates that even talented dirt racers have difficulty in stock cars. We saw Corey LaJoie being restricted to a part-time schedule, whereas Harrison Burton had to take a humbling road back to the Xfinity Series. The good thing with Day is that he is still young and can learn the tricks of the trade, with Larson serving as his mentor there’s optimism that he will turn a corner for good.