Simply because Connor Zilisch has been employed to drive the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet in 2028, that doesn’t imply Hendrick Motorsports doesn’t have a plan for Corey Day.
That was a part of what was revealed throughout a press convention on Tuesday wherein Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon launched Zilisch as their subsequent era driver following his two-year rookie contract stint at Trackhouse Racing.
Day, a 20-year-old filth Dash Automobile prodigy, remains to be simply in his first full-time pavement season with two wins within the O’Reilly Collection but in addition sits fifth within the championship standings with only a single race remaining within the common season.
He has the total help of Hendrick Motorsports, which is single-handedly funding his growth program.
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As some extent of comparability, Christopher Bell together with his comparable filth background didn’t attain the Cup Collection till his age 25 season and was not in a Joe Gibbs Racing automobile till his age 26 season. All of that is to say that Hendrick is preaching persistence to everybody invested in Day’s future prospects.
“Effectively, you realize, to begin with, Corey Day is an incredible expertise, and our plan is for him to be in our future for a very long time,” mentioned Hendrick in the course of the press convention. “Individuals do not realize he is solely been on pavement (full-time for) about half a 12 months, and so it may be good to look at him develop.
“And now we have plans for him that go properly past the subsequent couple of years. So when the timing’s proper, he’ll transfer up. However for proper now, Corey’s studying. We need to run for the championship within the O’Reilly automobile subsequent 12 months, and so we’re enthusiastic about him. I like the youth. I like the passion. I like the vitality and the expertise.”
To that time, Hendrick desires to see Day grasp pavement racing on the second-tier degree earlier than even contemplating what might come subsequent. Hendrick Motorsports might at all times wait to see what the panorama appears to be like like inside the subsequent 4 years or might pursue leveraging a partnership with one of many different Chevrolet groups just like what Gibbs did with Leavine Household Racing and Bell.
Gordon echoed what Hendrick mentioned.
“We all know there’s a vibrant future there,” Gordon mentioned of Day. “However proper now, Connor is ready and able to step in and be a championship caliber driver when 2028 rolls round.”
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