{"id":61621,"date":"2026-10-11T23:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T04:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=61621"},"modified":"2026-10-12T15:09:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T20:09:53","slug":"late-charge-at-charlotte-gives-corey-day-second-straight-nascar-oreilly-chase-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/11\/late-charge-at-charlotte-gives-corey-day-second-straight-nascar-oreilly-chase-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Late charge at Charlotte gives Corey Day second straight NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Chase win"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 11: Corey Day, driver of the #17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2026 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Reid Spencer <\/b>| <\/b>NASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/p>\n

CONCORD, N.C.\u2014It was a gutsy three-wide pass on the backstretch that gave Corey Day his second straight victory in the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase and moved the driver of the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet within close striking distance of the series lead.<\/p>\n

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CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 11: Corey Day, driver of the #17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2026 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With 10 laps left in Sunday\u2019s rain-postponed Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Day steered his car beneath the No. 2 Chevy of defending series champion Jesse Love and the No. 7 Camaro of Justin Allgaier and surged into the lead.<\/p>\n

Pursued closely by Love for the remainder of the race, Day crossed the finish line 0.728 seconds ahead of the Richard Childress Racing driver. Series leader Sheldon Creed passed Allgaier on the final lap to secure third place.<\/p>\n

With his first victory at Charlotte, his fourth of the season and fourth of his career, Day climbed two positions to third in the Chase standings, seven points behind Creed, who leads second-place Love by a mere two points.<\/p>\n

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CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 11: Corey Day, driver of the #17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, gestures to fans after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2026 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With consecutive wins at Las Vegas and Charlotte, Day has made up 85 points on the series lead in the two outings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the 2 got really loose from what I could see up there in front of the 7, and that kind of messed them both up,\u201d Day said of the winning pass in the middle of the backstretch at the 1.5-mile track. \u201cThat was just enough for me to get a good run (off Turn 2) and take my run.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was crucial. I think if I don\u2019t do that, I don\u2019t win the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

After winning the first stage, Day rallied from a penalty for driving through too many pit boxes during the stage break. He restarted 30th on Lap 54, but by the end of the second stage (Lap 90), he had charged through the field to seventh.<\/p>\n

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CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 11: Corey Day, driver of the #17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2026 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat a job by my guys,\u201d Day said. \u201cI screw up and (go through) too many boxes on entry and just have the car to do that (drive back to the front).\u201d<\/p>\n

With Love and Day chasing him, Allgaier held the lead from a restart on Lap 164 until Lap 183. But his car tightened up on his last set of tires, and Allgaier scraped the outside wall in Turn 4 with 17 circuits left, allowing both Love and Day to pass.<\/p>\n

Brent Crews slammed the wall on Lap 186 to cause the seventh and final caution, setting up the final restart on Lap 191 and Day\u2019s dramatic pass for the win, after he fell briefly to third behind Love and Allgaier in the first two corners of the restart lap.<\/p>\n

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CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 11: Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 Jarrett Logistics Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2026 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Love thought he had a better car at the end of the race but couldn\u2019t find a way around Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end, the 17 was not quite as good as we were, but just good enough that, when he took my air away, it was really hard to make up ground,\u201d Love said. \u201cI wish I could have had that one back, but I\u2019m still proud of myself for driving really hard and doing a lot of things right tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Creed recovered from early contact with the wall and a lengthy repair under caution to secure the third spot. Behind Allgaier in fourth, non-Chase driver Carson Brown made a late charge into fifth.<\/p>\n

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CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 11: Carson Kvapil, driver of the #1 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet, and Corey Day, driver of the #17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 11, 2026 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brandon Jones, Austin Hill, Anthony Alfredo, Taylor Gray and Brennan Poole completed the top 10.<\/p>\n

Polesitter Carson Kvapil, who came to Charlotte 19 points behind Creed in second place, suffered a cut right rear tire and contact with the outside wall. Kvapil finished 32nd, 28 laps down and dropped to fifth in the standings, 40 points behind Creed.<\/p>\n

The O\u2019Reilly Series Chase continues next Saturday with the Timberland PRO 200 at Phoenix Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

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Interview: NOAPS Race Winner – Corey Day (No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)<\/h2>\n