TALLADEGA, Alabama — Twenty-year-old Corey Day achieved a milestone victory Saturday afternoon, securing his inaugural NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series triumph at Talladega Superspeedway during the Ag-Pro 300. The California native crossed the finish line under caution in his No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, taking command only during the race’s final circuit in his debut full-time campaign.
The young sprint car racer brought Hendrick Motorsports their inaugural O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory at the Alabama track, while also delivering a win for an unusual pit crew addition — retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, who donned team colors and assisted with tire duties during Saturday’s competition.
“I sure as heck didn’t think it [first win] would be at a superspeedway,” Day said with a broad smile, noting he had also won a sprint car event in Nebraska earlier in the week. “My 17 guys just built a rocket ship.”
“I feel like we’ve been close, had a good day at Rockingham (North Carolina race) and had a couple other good days and just didn’t finish it off, so this is super cool,” he added.
The race concluded after 1 hour, 58 minutes and 33 seconds of competition.
Rookie driver Brent Crews achieved a personal milestone with a second-place finish in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, while Sheldon Creed from Haas Factory Team claimed third position in another characteristic photo-finish conclusion on the 2.66-mile high-banked oval. Creed’s performance earned him the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the second consecutive week.
“Hard to be too mad at second here when so much happens and very easily could have been in one of those crashes at the end,” Crews commented. “Getting to take home the Dash 4 Cash is really special, and thank the guys in the shop for that.”
JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith finished fourth in the No. 8 Chevrolet, helping extend the organization’s remarkable top-10 streak to 68 consecutive races — the second-longest in series history. Owner-operator Jeremy Clements rounded out the top five in his South Carolina-based No. 51 Chevrolet, marking the independent operation’s strongest result since 2022.
The remaining top-10 positions went to Dean Thompson, Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, Parker Retzlaff and Austin Green, with J.J. Yeley earning the sole Ford entry an impressive 11th-place showing among the 38-car field.
Love began the race from pole position in his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, pacing the field for the most circuits (37) and holding the lead late before falling backward with six laps remaining. The pack divided around his machine, allowing Creed to assume command with five laps left.
Creed’s teammate Sam Mayer, who had shown strength throughout the afternoon, was credited as the leader with two laps remaining in a three-wide formation that also included Creed and Day. However, as frequently occurs at Talladega, contact during the final frantic moments reshuffled the leading group, sending Mayer’s No. 41 Chevrolet and two-time race winner Jeb Burton’s No. 27 Jordan Anderson Chevrolet into the outside barrier.
Mayer finished 25th despite leading three separate times for eight total laps. Burton, who came within inches of winning this event last year, ended up 26th.
JR Motorsports teammates Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier captured the stage victories in segments one and two respectively, but both drivers were unable to recover from mid-race penalties for “impeding” other competitors during the final stage.
Officials called only four caution periods — the fewest since 2022. The 38 lead changes represented the most at this facility since 2013.
Despite recording his worst finish of the season in 23rd position, Allgaier maintains his championship advantage by 105 points over Creed in the standings.
Competition continues next Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway for the Andy’s Frozen Custard 340, where reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson will defend his victory from last year.
Day, Crews, Creed and Smith have qualified for next week’s $100,000 Dash 4 Cash opportunity.
