Corey Day earned his first NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series victory Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, leading only the final lap of the Ag-Pro 300 to take the checkered flag. The 20-year-old California native, driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in his first full-time season, called the win a surprise given the superspeedway setting.
The race featured a notable guest crew member — retired NFL star Jason Kelce — who helped change tires for Hendrick on pit road. Day had also won a sprint car race in Nebraska earlier in the week.
Rookie Brent Crews (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) finished second, while Sheldon Creed came in third and claimed the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus for the second consecutive week. Sammy Smith was fourth, extending JR Motorsports' top-10 streak to 68 races, and owner-driver Jeremy Clements rounded out the top five with his team's best result since 2022.
Jesse Love started on pole and led a race-high 37 laps but was shuffled back late. Creed's teammate Sam Mayer looked strong and held the lead with two laps remaining before contact sent him and Jeb Burton into the outside wall — both ending up outside the top 25.
The race saw only four caution periods (fewest since 2022) and 38 lead changes (most at Talladega since 2013). JRM drivers Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier won the two stages but were penalized mid-race and couldn't recover.
Despite a 23rd-place finish, Allgaier maintains the series points lead by 105 over Creed. The series heads to Texas Motor Speedway next Saturday for the Andy's Frozen Custard 340, airing on The CW at 3:30 p.m. ET.
