Corey Day Wins at Charlotte and is Third in NASCAR O’Reilly Chase – Lapeando
Corey Day secured his second consecutive victory in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase on Sunday, October 11, 2026, executing a daring three-wide pass with 10 laps remaining at Charlotte Motor Speedway, according to NASCAR reporting and Lapeando. Driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Day surged past Jesse Love and Justin Allgaier to win the rain-postponed Blue Cross NC 300, moving within seven points of the championship lead.
Rain Postponement and the Starting Grid
The race was originally scheduled for Saturday, October 10, 2026, but persistent rain forced NASCAR to cancel practice and qualifying sessions. Officials rescheduled the event for Sunday evening, approximately 28 hours later than planned, running it immediately following the Cup Series race. Without on-track sessions, the starting lineup was set by rulebook metrics, placing Carson Kvapil on the pole with Day alongside him on the front row, according to Lapeando.
The penalty trouble began early for the eventual winner. Day captured the victory in the first stage, but a pit stop infraction during the stage break sent him through too many pit boxes. NASCAR penalized him by placing him at the rear of the field in the 30th position for the restart on Lap 54. Over the course of the 36-lap second stage, won by Justin Allgaier, Day charged back through the traffic to finish the stage in seventh place.
The Three-Wide Winning Move at Charlotte
The closing laps brought intense side-by-side competition among the front-runners. Allgaier had maintained the lead following a Lap 164 restart, but his tires wore down, causing his Chevrolet No. 7 to tight-handle and scrape the outside wall in Turn 4 with 17 circuits remaining, as noted by Yahoo Sports. That contact allowed Love and Day to pass.
Following the seventh and final caution on Lap 186—triggered when Brent Crews hit the wall—the race restarted on Lap 191 with nine laps to go. Day initially dropped to third behind Love and Allgaier through the first two corners. On the backstretch, Love’s car lost rear traction directly in front of the field, disrupting both leaders. Day seized the momentum from Turn 2, darted to the inside, and cleared both cars simultaneously.
I 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,
Day said, as quoted by NASCAR. That was just enough for me to get a good run and take my run. That was crucial. I think if I don’t do that, I don’t win the race.
Love crossed the finish line 0.728 seconds behind Day in second place, stating that Day’s aerodynamic draft made it difficult to close the gap in the closing laps. Sheldon Creed recovered from early wall contact and extensive repairs under yellow-flag conditions to finish third, securing the top spot in the championship standings.
Championship Standings Heading to Phoenix Raceway
Following the Charlotte event, Corey Day sits third in the Chase standings with 2,287 points, having erased an 85-point deficit to the leader over the span of two victories at Las Vegas and Charlotte. Sheldon Creed holds the lead with 2,294 points, just two points ahead of Jesse Love in second place. Justin Allgaier ranks fourth with 2,279 points, and Carson Kvapil dropped to fifth with 2,254 points after suffering a cut right-rear tire and hitting the wall, finishing 32nd, 29 laps down.
The Chase schedule continues on Saturday, October 17, 2026, with the Timberland PRO 200 at Phoenix Raceway at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.