NASCAR
Corey Day Bounces off the Boards to Win Las Vegas Thriller
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Already twice a winner this season, 20-year-old sensation Corey Day saved his best performance yet for The Chase. Las Vegas saw the Hendrick Motorsports driver lead a career-high 136 laps. However, what will live on past this night is the hectic final 10 circuits. Carson Kvapil chased Day down in lapped traffic, and got by the 17 twice in the run to the checkers. Regrouping and ripping the fence, Day found more speed to just beat the 1 back to the line. Now fifth in The Chase with five races to go, Day is back in the title fight.
Both Stages were split between championship hopefuls Corey Day and Sam Mayer. Day was the first man in Mayer’s rearview mirror for the second segment. The No. 17 fell one position shy of a max-points campaign.
The only major issue across either Stage took out top title contender, as a Chase downfall continued for Justin Allgaier. Early in Stage 2, an ill-handling Brandon Jones got loose in turn two. This spin was caused by a loose tire on Toyota No. 20. As a result, the No. 7 Chevrolet had nowhere to go, as both contenders’ nights ended with disastrous DNFs.
HUGE CHAMPIONSHIP IMPLICATIONS! 😱@BrandonJonesRac and @J_Allgaier are heavily damaged after this crash. pic.twitter.com/SC5OToRKJW
— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) October 4, 2026
Stage 3 saw Day retake command on the opening lap, and maintain a gap over the field. A very dominant drive to Las Vegas victory would only be derailed late by aggressive lapped traffic. In shades of Kyle Larson at Kansas last week, a Bass Pro Shops car tracked down the HendrickCars.Com machine. With others refusing to yield an inch, Carson Kvapil found Day’s rear bumper with 10 to go and got by the 17. Day found a new line up high, allowing him to retake the top spot two laps later. Kvapil responded by passing Day again at the white flag. Riding the fence on both ends of the track, Day gathered just enough speed to get the lead out of turn four. These last two laps will have to be seen to be believed. This clip may live on as NASCAR’s finish of the season.
WHAT. A. BATTLE. pic.twitter.com/BjTyK2oI9n
— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) October 4, 2026
“Oh, man, I just was so tight there to end,” Day said. “And I was so scared, I was gonna go down there and plow on the bottom, and let him by me, and then just have no run, and be able to do nothing. But man, just a great car, man. Hats off to Adam Wall (crew chief) and my guys. Just everyone back at the shop that works hard on this thing. We struggled over the summer. And to tell you the truth, you know, we won Talladega and Dover pretty close, and then just went dry. So it feels really good. dominant day for us for sure. Great car, thanks to HendrickCars.Com, Hendrick Motorsports, and Chevrolet, just everyone on the 17. That was badass.”
“I knew we’d be able to be a title contender from the start of the year. But like I said, just had a dry summer there. So we’re getting things rolling back in the right direction. 
My guys brought me a phenomenal racecar, like I said, and, you know, that’s a big part of it. And yeah, I’ll just keep working.”
Several seconds back of the Day and Kvapil battle was reigning champion Jesse Love in third. The No. 2 was just ahead of Brent Crews and Taylor Gray. Thanks to a 75-point night, Day is now 41 markers off the lead. The updated Chase grid can be seen below following race four of nine.
.@NASCAROReillyAP Chase standings after race four from @LVMotorSpeedway and @corey_day_ winning. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Oj18rVc3sp
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 4, 2026
O’Reilly Series contenders continue their championship quest next week from Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Blue Cross NC 250 is the first fall O’Reilly race on Charlotte’s oval in nine years, with Chase pressure at a premium. The green flag will fly Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Chris Graythen/Getty Images
