Hendrick Motorsports announced on Thursday that it signed top prospect Corey Day to a contract extension, ensuring the driver remains with the organization for years to come. Now, we may know which Cup Series team he will race part-time for in 2027.
In Hendrick’s press release on Thursday, it shared that Day will race full-time in the No. 17 car next season in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. More interestingly, in his age-21 season, he’ll also make his Cup Series debut.
Related: Insider Reveals When Corey Day Could Reach Cup Series
“The agreement, signed Wednesday afternoon, will see Day compete for the NOAPS championship next season driving the No.17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. He also will run a limited Cup Series schedule, with details to be announced at a later date.”
Hendrick Motorsports announcement on Corey Day’s contract extension
However, that opportunity in the Cup Series next year won’t come directly with Hendrick. That’s because, under NASCAR rules, there is a hard cap on teams entering four cars into any race. With HMS racing Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman as its four full-time drivers next year, the young prospect will need a ride elsewhere.
That likely means either racing for Spire Motorsports or the Haas Factory Team in 2027. On that question, NASCAR driver Corey LaJoie indicated on X that Haas will be the team Day runs a few Cup races for next season.
It certainly makes sense. Haas is only a one-car team under the Chevrolet umbrella and in an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. While Spire could potentially offer better equipment and a superior team, they have their three full-time drivers to focus their resources on.
The more intriguing thing might be what team Day races for full-time in a few years. Hendrick already announced that Connor Zilisch will replace Bowman in 2028 and beyond. It leaves Day without a viable path to racing full-time with Hendrick, meaning he will likely need to spend at least one full season elsewhere.
For now, the assumption would be that he spends his age-21 season racing full time in the O’Reilly Series before potentially replacing Michael McDowell or Daniel Suarez in 2028.
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