Corey Day has quickly become one of the most polarizing prospects in NASCAR, due to his erratic start in the Craftsman Truck Series and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. Last season, his results as a part-time driver on both circuits were wildly inconsistent, and he started out 2026 by making a habit of getting on the wrong side of his competitors.
Yet, Day has been touted as the next Kyle Larson, with no one fueling the hype train more than the two-time Cup Series champion himself. His dirt racing background makes the comparison obvious, but fans needed to see him translate his talent to asphalt first.
The 20-year-old is now doing exactly that, picking up his second O'Reilly Series win of the season in Saturday's BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway. And with the way he won, it's no secret exactly who he reminded us of.
Corey Day's "Next Kyle Larson" hype is beginning to feel just as advertised
Day may or may not be a future Cup Series champion. He may or may not ever win 10 races in a season, as Larson did in 2021. But his driving style is the closest we have seen to his fellow California native as anybody to come along since him, and it's must-see TV.
At Dover, Day ran inside the top 10 all afternoon and found himself in fourth place late. Then, he began to frantically search around the track to find grip, running a significantly higher line than anybody else and diamonding the corners as if he were on dirt.
In the blink of an eye, he passed William Sawalich for third, Sam Mayer for second, and finally, ran down and drove by race leader and championship leader Justin Allgaier with four laps to go.
It was a carbon copy of the types of electrifying performances that first put his mentor on the map, except better. Lest we forget, Larson did not win a race during his lone full O'Reilly Series season back in 2013. Granted, he wasn't driving Hendrick Motorsports equipment like Day is, but even well into his Cup career, the common refrain with him was that he'd steal the show, yet he'd come up just short of being the first one to the checkered flag.
As crazy as it sounds, Day might be even more polished than Larson was at the same age. For someone who was considered a total dart-without-feathers only a few months ago, that's a scary sight for the field.
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