Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Corey Day was considered among the most likely candidates to replace Alex Bowman behind the wheel of the organization's No. 48 Chevrolet at the Cup level, after Bowman announced that the 2027 season would be his last following the confirmation of a new one-year contract extension.
But despite having signed Day with the apparent purpose of developing him to move him up to the Cup Series, Rick Hendrick's team instead signed Connor Zilisch to replace Bowman in 2028.
Zilisch won 10 races in his rookie O'Reilly Series season a year ago with JR Motorsports and currently competes for Trackhouse Racing. Zilisch, who is 34th out of 35 drivers in the point standings with only a single top 10 finish in what has been a challenging rookie year at the Cup level, is still expected to return to Trackhouse to finish out his current contract in 2027.
Corey Day back with Hendrick for 2027, albeit not in Cup
Day has had an impressive rookie season in his own right as he continues to adapt to asphalt after climbing through the dirt racing ranks. He won at Talladega Superspeedway and Dover Motor Speedway in the spring and finds himself fifth in the point standings with one race remaining on the regular season schedule. Only points leader Justin Allgaier has earned more wins.
Now Day is officially set to return for a second season behind the wheel of the No. 17 Chevrolet for Hendrick's O'Reilly Series team in 2027. Day is already the team's first full-time driver at the sport's second-highest level since the late Kyle Busch in 2004 (excluding 2006, by which point Busch was also competing full-time in Cup).
The team had run the No. 17 car on a part-time basis from 2022 to 2025, after having not competed in the series at all since 2009. Day got his first seat time with an 11-race deal in 2025, during which time he recorded a top finish of fourth place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
With his 2027 plans solidified, the real question becomes what he'll do in 2028, when Zilisch is set to take over the seat many once thought would be handed off from Bowman to Day.
The most logical option, if a Cup Series promotion is indeed in his future, would appear to be a move to Spire Motorsports to replace Michael McDowell behind the wheel of the No. 71 Chevrolet. McDowell is set to be 42 next year and has not performed as well as teammates Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez, and Spire Motorsports is an affiliate of Hendrick Motorsports.
Day himself has driven in select Craftsman Truck Series races for Spire Motorsports, 10 in total since the start of 2025, and posted a top finish of second place at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park a year ago.
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