DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Corey Day has already learned several things this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, the 19-year-old’s first participation as a driver in Speedweek.
Maybe first and foremost, be ready for change. Always.
Thursday’s scheduled practice session in the ARCA Series was washed out by rain with the starting order for Saturday’s race being set by last year’s owner’s points instead. Friday afternoon’s allotted track time, originally slated to be qualifying, was instead converted to practice, giving drivers some final, valuable rehearsal time in the draft.
Saturday’s opening ARCA Series event is set for noon and will air on Fox. Day will start 21st.
Day made just six laps during the practice session, coincidentally turning in the 21st-best time with a circuit of 50.665 seconds. Day and his team chose to treat the session as a final tune-up for the car and will lean on the experience he gathered in January in trying to progress in Saturday’s race.
“We shook it down today. Wish we would’ve gotten to qualify, I know we have a fast car, so it would’ve been nice to be able to start in the front,” Day said on Friday afternoon. “We’re starting 21st, which isn’t terrible. We’ve got a fast car, so we’ll go to the front either way, just would’ve been nice to start up there.”
If six laps hardly seems like an ample sample size, counting January’s test session, Day is actually more experienced at Daytona than most of the tracks he has arrived at so far in his NASCAR career, which included four starts in the Truck Series last year and three races in the ARCA Series.
“I think this is the first pavement track I’ve run so far where I come into it with laps on it already, so that’s really nice,” Day said. “It’s really cool to be here racing. I’ve always watched it and always thought it would be cool to be a part of it, so, cool that’s actually happening.”
With Day’s talent and opportunities, it likely won’t be the last time he participates in Speedweek either. Far from it.
And while an ARCA start on the high banks is a great beginning, there are greater goals ahead. Eventually, the Cup Series, the DAYTONA 500 and the Duel at Daytona qualifying races.
On Thursday, Day got new perspective of the innerworkings of the Duels, sitting atop the No. 9 pit box alongside Jeff Gordon. In 2025, Day will run races across a myriad of racing disciplines including the Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Series, TA2 Series and yes, still some events on dirt.
The good news for Day, as he continues his trial by fire through the stock car racing ranks in 2025, he’s got plenty of astute brains to pick, including Gordon’s.
“It was super cool to sit up there with (Gordon) and pick his brain a little bit,” Day explained. “Just trying to take it all in so hopefully, one day when I (run the Cup Series at Daytona), I know how it all goes down. That’s kind of where I’m at with the sprint car stuff. I can show up and get through the nightly program of a sprint car race with my eyes closed because I’ve done it for so long. I want to be at that point with this, so, sitting up there and watching and picking all these guys’ brains like Kyle (Larson), Jeff and Jeff Andrews and everyone else involved is great to hopefully get me to that point faster than I got there in the sprint car stuff.”
But first thing’s first: Saturday’s race.
Day is confident in his race car and also that his limited experience in the draft will be enough to make moves on Saturday. But, without teammates, Saturday’s ARCA event will likely be a free-for-all for nearly everyone in the field and Day said his first priority is survival.
“My plan is not to crash, that’s first and foremost,” Day grinned. “Finish all the laps and I’m sure there are going to be crashes, so, I’ve got to be heads up all the time, watching ahead of me and making sure I’m listening to my spotter good and everything else.
“We have a fast race car, so, I’m sure we’ll go to the front with it.”
ARCA starting lineup for Daytona
- William Sawalich, No. 18
- Lawless Alan, No. 20
- Lavar Scott, No. 6
- Isabella Robusto, No. 55
- Brenden Queen, No. 28
- Jake Finch, No. 25
- Thad Moffitt, No 46
- Kole Raz, No. 76
- Katherine Legge, No. 23
- Cody Dennison, No. 11
- Jason White, No. 9
- Takuma Koga, No. 12
- Ed Pompa, No. 10
- Alex Clubb, No. 03
- Bryce Haugeberg, No. 06
- Tim Viens, No. 31
- Michael Maples, No. 99
- Jeff Scofield, No. 48
- Helio Castroneves, No. 82
- Andy Jankowiak, No. 73
- Corey Day, No. 77 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Willie Mullins, No. 3
- Caleb Costner, No. 93
- Jason Kitzmiller, No. 97
- Becca Monopoli, No. 86
- Tim Richmond, No. 27
- Garrett Mitchell, No. 30
- Nolan Wilson, No. 69
- Ryan Roulette, No. 67
- Amber Balcaen, No. 70
- Kyle Steckly, No. 29
- Craig Bracken, No. 02
- Sean Corr, No. 8
- Dale Quarterley, No. 4
- Brayton Laster, No. 0
- Scott Melton, No. 68
- Eric Caudell, No. 7
- A.J. Moyer, No. 88
- Hunter Deshautelle, No. 57
- Bryan Dauzat, No. 75
What time is the ARCA race on Saturday?
The ARCA race is slated to start at noon on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.
What channel is the ARCA race on Saturday?
The opening race of the ARCA Series season is set to air on Fox.