After a pair of runner-ups, the Clovis, CA native tops a three-leader thriller in his home state
Corey Day was tired of running second in his home state.
An off weekend from the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship chase allowed Day to return to his roots this week. The Clovis, CA native hooked up with the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14 team for a trio of World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races in the “Golden State.”
The first two led to Day being forced to settle for second. Carson Macedo slid by him late on Tuesday at Kings Speedway, and Donny Schatz held him off Friday at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
Day simply refused to fall a spot shy again on Saturday when the scene shifted to Ventura Raceway for the Toyota Racing Battle at the Beach presented by ARP as the Series made its highly anticipated debut at the Southern California 1/5 mile.
The 20-year-old faced a fierce battle for third with Bill Balog in the early going as the two traded the position and nearly made contact multiple times. Up front, Steven Snyder Jr. and Emerson Axsom gave the fans a show with a war of their own for the top spot. They swapped sliders and crossovers until Snyder Jr. finally secured the lead. A pivotal restart allowed Day to surge from fourth to second, and then one mistake on the cushion from Snyder Jr. was all it took. Day slid by the Three Stooges Racing No. 51 and held off late challenges from Bill Balog and Sheldon Haudenschild to head to Victory Lane.
“That was sick,” Day said. “It was awesome. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, and I’m sure no one else did, but that was phenomenal. That was one of the better races I’ve had this year and one of the better tracks we’ve gotten to race on. Hats off to the whole Ventura track crew. It’s a privilege to be able to race at a facility like this and to have a badass track like that to go with it is awesome.”
Day’s second World of Outlaws win of 2026 is the fifth of his career. He also became the eighth multi-time winner with The Greatest Show on Dirt this season. Add in his two consecutive Turkey Night Grand Prix triumphs with the USAC National Midgets, and Day is now on a three-race win streak at Ventura.
Sheldon Haudenschild rolled the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18 up to second for his 25th podium of the season.
Bill Balog fought up front all race long and looked as if he may have a shot to win before ultimately rounding out the podium.
Emerson Axsom and Buddy Kofoid completed the top five.
NIGHTLY NOTES
Emerson Axsom laid down the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.
Corey Day set Simpson Quick Time and established a new track record in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.
Heat Races belonged to Corey Day (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Steve Snyder Jr. (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Two), and Garet Williamson (WIX Filters Heat Three).
The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Emerson Axsom.
Steven Snyder Jr. topped the Toyota Dash.
Carson Macedo wheeled from 14th to seventh for his second consecutive KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.
That also made Macedo the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.
Emerson Axsom’s fourth-place effort made him the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.
Steven Snyder Jr. clocked the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.
The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Steven Snyder Jr.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars make the long haul east to Mechanicsburg, PA’s Williams Grove Speedway for the $75,000-to-win 64th J & S Classics National Open on Oct. 2-3. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
Where can you watch every World of Outlaws race? Live on DIRTVision.
Where can you see the World of Outlaws in 2026? Click to see the full schedule.
FEATURE RESULTS:
NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 14-Corey Day[3]; 2. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog[4]; 4. 27-Emerson Axsom[2]; 5. 83-Michael Kofoid[6]; 6. 23-Garet Williamson[5]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo[14]; 8. 17-Spencer Bayston[10]; 9. 2-David Gravel[12]; 10. 7S-Chris Windom[7]; 11. 21-Dominic Scelzi[17]; 12. 24-Max Mittry[9]; 13. 51-Steven Snyder Jr[1]; 14. 2C-Cole Macedo[13]; 15. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart[16]; 17. 5K-Gauge Garcia[20]; 18. 0-Tim Kaeding[18]; 19. 73-Braden Chiaramonte[21]; 20. 16C-Skylar Gee[25]; 21. 6-Bryce Lucius[24]; 22. (DNF) 3-Kaleb Montgomery[22]; 23. (DNF) 88N-DJ Netto[19]; 24. (DNF) 28M-Conner Morrell[23]; 25. (DNF) 10-Dominic Gorden[11]
For complete results, CLICK HERE.