LAS VEGAS - Corey Day and the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team didn't need luck in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
While it marked a new high career watermark for the young driver in terms of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career, there wasn't much lucky about it.
After breaking into the top 10 in the second stage and staying there the rest of the way, Day powered from 10th to fourth after a late restart, scoring the first top five of his Xfinity Series career at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"The 17 guys brought me a really, really fast car," Day said. "So, appreciate that. Appreciate HendrickCars.com, Mr. and Mrs. H., Hendrick Motorsports, everyone that believes in me. I feel like I've been working on a good day like this for a long time, so, feels really good."
From the start, Day flashed the same speed that sent him to the top of the board in his group of practice on Saturday. Starting 19th, the 19-year-old began his ascent from the start, slowly picking his way forward.
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That progress accelerated in stage two, as he restarted 14th and went to work, coming to the end of the segment in ninth. He continued the charge in stage three, reaching sixth before a green flag pit cycle shuffled him back to 10th.
With 29 laps to go, a crash brought out what would be the event's final caution. After pit stops, Day lined up as the fifth car in the outside row and fired off when the green flag flew with 24 circuits remaining. He shot the middle lane three wide on the first lap to pick up multiple spots and as the field spread out, continued to inch his way forward before running out of laps.
Day's next start will come at Martinsville Speedway in two weeks.
Sunday's Round-of-8 opener in the Cup Series at Las Vegas is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start.
Here's a look at the final results from Saturday's Xfinity Series race:
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NASCAR Xfinity results
- Aric Almirola, No. 19
- Connor Zilisch, No. 88
- Justin Allgaier, No. 7
- Corey Day, No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Nick Sanchez, No. 48
- Jesse Love, No. 2
- Ryan Sieg, No. 39
- Taylor Gray, No. 54
- Sam Mayer, No. 41
- Austin Hill, No. 21
- Sheldon Creed, No. 00
- William Sawalich, No. 18
- Brandon Jones, No. 20
- Harrison Burton, No. 25
- Carson Kvapil, No. 1
- Daniel Hemric, No. 11
- Daniel Dye, No. 10
- Christian Eckes, No. 16
- Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99
- Sammy Smith, No. 8
- Kyle Sieg, No. 28
- Trevor Bayne, No. 24
- Josh Williams, No. 91
- Anthony Alfredo, No. 42
- Brennan Poole, No. 44
- Jeb Burton, No. 27
- Blane Perkins, No. 31
- Dean Thompson, No. 26
- Ryan Ellis, No. 71
- Parker Retzlaff, No. 4
- Austin Green, No. 32
- Garrett Smithley, No. 14
- Mason Maggio, No. 35
- Nick Leitz, No. 07
- Joey Gase, No. 53
- Jeremy Clements, No. 51
- Mason Massey, No. 45
- Thomas Annunziata, No. 70
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What time is NASCAR on today?
Sunday, Oct. 12
- 5:30 p.m. - Cup Series race (USA Network)