CONCORD, N.C. - A little later this week, Hendrick Motorsports signee Corey Day will be flying around Daytona International Speedway, one of the most hallowed of racing grounds to be found anywhere in the world.
And yet, Speedweek will only begin an upcoming year's worth of firsts, with some familiar stops mixed in between.
Day is set to run races at a variety of levels, including NASCAR's ARCA, Xfinity and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series as well as road-course races in the Trans-Am Series. And yes, the 19-year-old dirt track prodigy will sprinkle in some races on dirt ovals as well.
Even since the turn of the calendar, Day has been busy, participating in the Chili Bowl Nationals as well as multiple testing sessions across different disciplines including an ARCA test at Daytona. So, what's this all been like for Day?
"It's definitely felt like a whirlwind, from signing a NASCAR contract and moving all the way across the country, it's been a lot," Day told HendrickMotorsports.com recently. "I'm doing this in the prime of my life. I'm still a kid, so it's cool to say I've accomplished this much and I'm doing this much at such a young age."
In terms of racing on pavement, Day was able to cut his teeth a bit in 2024, making three starts in the ARCA Menards Series for Pinnacle Racing Group and four more in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. But all of those starts came on either short tracks (Bristol Motor Speedway, Martinsville Raceway and Salem Speedway) or intermediates (Kansas Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway).
And while his Daytona test in early January gave Day a taste of what to expect when it comes to superspeedway racing and drafting, undoubtedly this weekend at Daytona will provide a crash course as well.
"I think if you ask anyone in the world, 'When you think of NASCAR, what race do you think of,' it's probably the DAYTONA 500," Day said. "I'm not racing the 500 but to race at Daytona is super cool. It's something I've always had on my bucket list and it will be cool to check it off."
By the end of 2025, that checklist will look a lot different for Day, who's will also get his first road-racing experience this year. He believes the key to performing across different tracks, disciplines and series will be the work he puts in.
"I just think mentally preparing," Day said. "It's honestly less races than I've done the last couple of years with the sprint car stuff, but I think a pavement race is like three sprint car races. There's a whole lot more that goes into it. Just try to prepare to get where I am with the sprint car stuff, where it's almost second nature to me. I'm trying my best to get there with the pavement stuff."
RELATED: Former Hendrick Motorsports driver Ricky Rudd enshrined in NASCAR Hall of Fame
And obviously, last year's experience, though limited, will only help.
"I definitely learned a lot. I have the comfortability now where I know what stuff feels like, I know how the race weekends go," Day said.
But certainly, Speedweek is no normal race weekend and it will offer just the first of many chances to learn for Day in 2025. And it also serves as the first tangible proof that a season he'd once only dreamed of is now a reality.
"I just thought I was going to be a sprint car racer the rest of my life," Day grinned. "Definitely no complaints that it's brought me to here but I never thought it was going to be a possibility.
"These guys are really, really good at what they do and I'm a rookie, so I've got that to look forward to. To race those really good guys will only make me be able to race at a higher level."