LAS VEGAS — After losing a nail biter by 0.096 seconds to Kyle Larson on Thursday, Corey Day came back to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday dead set on denying any outcome other than winning, and the mission was accomplished.
Earning back-to-back fast qualifier awards, Day has set up his nights in “Sin City” with unparalleled speed when the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14 is on the clock. That early-in-the-night quickness has guided them through heats and dashes into the A-Main, where the 20-year-old has really done his shining.
Coming from the fourth starting spot in Friday’s 25-lapper, Day immediately rocketed to third as the man who topped him a night prior, Kyle Larson, slipped out of contention when he lost control of the Silva Motorsports No. 57 and spun on lap one.
From there, the Clovis, California native followed Aaron Reutzel and Tyler Courtney into lap traffic before pouncing on “Sunshine” by Lap eight and then overtaking “A-Aron” by Lap nine.
It took him only three laps to build a sizable 2.113-second advantage before a trio of cautions for Hunter Schuerenberg, Chase Randall, and Justin Sanders wiped that away and forced him on his toes for three restarts on an ever-changing surface in “Sin City.” He handled a pair with ease, but Reutzel kept him honest on the final restart and pulled alongside at one point, but was never able to make a move stick.
The win for Day continued his superb stretch since debuting at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last year – winning, finishing second by 0.096 seconds, and winning in three starts at the Nevada oval.
It was his 12th career win with Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing, ranking third all-time behind Rico Abreu (25) and Brad Sweet (14).
Along with Kyle Larson, Tanner Thorson, and Aaron Reutzel, Day is one of the top-four in combined preliminary feature points to lock-in for the SugarBee Blackjack Bash finale Heat Races on Saturday.
They’re gunning for a $21,021 payday at the dirt track following the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at the big track on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking of NASCAR, both Day and Larson will have an extremely busy schedule while they run as Hendrick Motorsports teammates on the pavement and then return to the dirt track in what is blossoming into a fiercely contested, but respectable rivalry on the dirt.
While Day parked the JMR No. 14 in victory lane, Aaron Reutzel settled for runner-up honors after leading the opening eight laps.
After him, Australian James McFadden took the last podium position with a late-race pass aboard his Tarlton Racing No. 21.
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 14-Corey Day[4]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[1]; 3. 21-James McFadden[6]; 4. 88-Tanner Thorson[12]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[3]; 6. 9-Daison Pursley[9]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu[5]; 8. 88W-Austin McCarl[16]; 9. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[11]; 10. 57-Kyle Larson[2]; 11. 13-Tanner Holmes[13]; 12. 42-Sye Lynch[10]; 13. 26-Justin Peck[14]; 14. 55-Kerry Madsen[8]; 15. 24D-Danny Sams III[7]; 16. 83T-Tanner Carrick[18]; 17. 5-Brenham Crouch[20]; 18. 17GP-Hank Davis[22]; 19. 19-Brent Marks[24]; 20. 19H-Joel Myers Jr[21]; 21. 2X-Justin Sanders[19]; 22. 9R-Chase Randall[15]; 23. 73-Hunter Schuerenberg[17]; 24. 21B-Brian Brown[23]
