By Jerry Jordan, Editor
LAS VEGAS – Corey Day found speed where he least expected it Saturday night, riding the fence at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to outduel Carson Kvapil over a breathtaking final 12 laps and win the Focused Health 302.
The move wasn’t quite as egregious as when Ross Chastain used a similar move at Martinsville Speedway that would come to be known as the “Hail Melon.” That maneuver was later banned by NASCAR but in Day’s case, he didn’t really ride the wall at speed; he just bounced off of it multiple times and never lifted off the gas.
The 20-year-old Hendrick Motorsports rookie exchanged the lead with Kvapil four times to get his third NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory of the season.
Day started from the pole, won the opening stage and led a career-high 136 of the 201 laps. But the win was anything but routine after Kvapil tracked him down late.
“I was dying tight, he was dying loose, we were both trying really hard with what we had,” Day said. “He got to my inside there and I really thought that that was it. I didn’t think there was really another lane that I could get by him in.”
Running out of options in his preferred middle groove, Day went to the top.
“I just kind of went to the fence and found speed there,” Day said. “I was able to get back to his inside and put him away there for a couple laps. He got back to me, but I was just able to find enough.”
Coming to the checkered flag, Day was in the wall off Turn 4 and flat on the throttle, unsure the car would stick.
“Yeah, I was just trying to not take my foot off the floor,” Day said. “I thought that was my best opportunity to win, was to just be on the throttle as hard as I could. I really didn’t know if there was much pace at the fence and I was so tight that I couldn’t turn off of it.”
Asked whether he could enjoy a battle that intense in the moment, Day admitted the stress outweighed the fun – at least while leading.
“I mean, it is fun. It’s very intense,” Day said. “I think it’s fun for the chaser. I think the chasee is not having fun because he got caught. When you’re on offense in a situation like that, that’s absolutely fun. But for me, that was more stressful. I wasn’t trying to lead the whole entire race and then give it away in the last five.”
The duel drew raves online, including from Dale Earnhardt Jr., who praised the series’ product on social media during the finish.
“I’m gonna go back and watch it tomorrow, and it’s gonna be a race of the year candidate in my book for sure,” Day said.
The victory moved Day to fifth in the 12-driver Chase standings, 41 points behind leader Sheldon Creed with five races remaining. Day gained 51 points on Creed, who finished 13th.
Kvapil’s runner-up finish moved him to second in the standings, 19 points behind Creed. Defending series champion Jesse Love finished third and sits third in points, 22 back.
“Yeah, I think we needed that for sure after the DNF that we had,” Day said. “It put us behind the eight ball pretty bad. We’ve had really good speed and a lot of consistency, but with the bonus you get from winning and having good stage points like we did today … I think we need one more of those days, to tell you the truth, to really be good.”
The win continued Day’s love affair with the 1.5-mile Las Vegas oval, where he scored his first career Truck Series pole in March 2025.
“This place has been pretty good to me, to tell you the truth,” Day said. “I love this place. It’s my favorite track for sure. I always kind of gelled at this place. I really enjoy it – enjoy running the wall, enjoy running the bottom. It’s really fast, you run a lot of throttle.”
Day also credited his sprint car background for the fearless fence-riding in the closing laps.
“A little bit of sprint car came out in me, hitting the fence, running the fence, all that sort of thing,” Day said. “That’s a sprint car driver in me just not lifting and getting everything I can out of it. I think a stock car guy in my position probably would have made some different decisions there late in that race, but it worked out.”
Justin Allgaier’s night ended early in a crash with Brandon Jones on the restart to begin Stage 2. Allgaier, who entered the night second in points, finished 34th and fell to fourth, 31 points behind Creed. Jones was disqualified for having four or more lug nuts not safe and secure. The DQ barely impacted Jones, who was moved from 35th place to 36th place in the rankings. The 92 and the 88 were also penalized for a single loose lug nut violation. They will serve their penalty next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the loss of pit selection.