HANFORD, Calif. – Corey Day officially owns a victory in a 410 sprint car.
The 15-year-old son of west coast legend Ronnie Day drove a masterful race in Saturday’s NARC-King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car event at Keller Auto Speedway en route to his first 410 sprint car victory.
It was a special night for many reasons for the ascending talent.
In 2005, his father earned his final King of the West victory in Hanford, Calif., at what was then known as Kings Speedway. Sixteen years later, the younger Day carried the family torch by earning his first series win at the same facility.
The crew working on the Jason Meyers-owned No. 14 added to the familial tradition as well.
“It’s my dad’s old crew when he drove for Elite Landscaping,” Day said. “So, it’s cool to still be winning with them after all these years.”
Saturday night also marked an important date for the second-generation driver.
“It was one year and three days ago that I first got in a sprint car,” Day reflected. “So to pull it off in almost exactly a year is pretty cool.”
The teenager burst onto the scene at the beginning of the season. While he may have first climbed in a sprint car last year, he announced his presence nationally at the Wild Wing Shootout last January at Arizona Speedway in San Tan Valley, Ariz.
Driving the same car he took to victory lane Saturday night, Day went wheel to wheel in a heat race with 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz. He not only refused to back down from Schatz in a slider-war, he beat him.
Since then, Day hasn’t slowed down.
After continuing to impress on the West Coast sprint car circuit throughout spring, Clauson-Marshall Racing hired the Clovis, Calif., native for Indiana Midget Week. In his fifth start with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series, Day parked in victory lane at Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind.
A month later, Day scored his first 360 sprint car victory in a Western Tour Speedweek event at Oregon’s Coos Bay Speedway.
In 410 competition, a victory had eluded him in seemingly every way.
Day finished runner-up on night one of the Peter Murphy Classic in Hanford in May. In July, he started on the pole in his second NARC-King of the West start before a spin ended that bid.
The following week, Day appeared poised to make a pass for the lead at Santa Maria (Calif.) Raceway when lapped cars collided in front of him and collected him. While running in the top-five at Merced in August, Day suffered another incident with a lap car, sending him on a wild ride.
It may sound ridiculous to say a win in a 410 sprint car had been a long time coming for someone just 15 years old, but in Day’s case it feels like the truth.
“It does feel like a monkey off my back,” Day said. “We’ve been trying since January.”
It was by no means easy to toss the monkey off as Day had to battle 71-time NARC feature winner Tim Kaeding for the win. Day wheeled his ride like a veteran after starting sixth to take the lead from Kaeding before hitting the halfway mark.
Kaeding mounted a late charge as the two entered slower traffic, but Day kept his cool and held on to defeat the two-time series champion.
Only a single page was absent from what was an otherwise storybook night.
“I’m sad Jason (Meyers) couldn’t be here,” Day said. “He’s been to every single race except this one. He had a big part of putting me in the car in Arizona, and it just kind of took off from there.”
All the more reason for Day to win again his next time out when Meyers is back. Speaking of next time, Day’s focus with the team will now shift to a major 360 event.
“My next race with these guys is Trophy Cup,” Day said.
With 360 and 410 triumphs under his belt, Day’s competition on the West Coast may have to deal with seeing a lot more of him in victory lane moving forward. Day has proven he has the talent and a great crew behind him. The first win nerves are now relieved, so the next one and the one after that could very well arrive much easier.
How is the teenager processing finally grabbing the elusive 410 win on what was such a special night for a variety of reasons?
“It doesn’t really feel real,” Day said.