Following two controversial races, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson addressed his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teammate Corey Day with a strong message ahead of the Phoenix race. The #17 Chevy driver had drawn attention after his finish in Atlanta and was involved in another similar incident at Circuit of the Americas. But even amid the setbacks, Larson continues to stand by him.

Kyle “mentor” Larson steps up for Corey Day

In a recent interview with Jeff Gluck, Larson opened up on how he spoke to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver, who is under a full-time obligation with HMS. Addressing Day, Larson, who played an instrumental role in bringing him to HMS, asked him to fight his battles, get going, and not give up.

“I haven’t really talked to him a whole lot, but just like, ‘Hey man, you’re doing great. Obviously, you’ve had a rough couple of weeks and all that, and you’ve taken in a lot of advice, but keep your head up,” Larson said.

Following this, the #5 driver highlighted how the young days as a racing driver are mostly spent learning and gathering experience. Larson asked him to keep his chin up and learn on the go.

“I think that’s important to do when you’re 20, and you’re getting a lot of advice, and you’re beating yourself down, I’m sure, for how you’ve handled things. So, just trying to be like, ‘Hey, we all believe in you. You wouldn’t be here if we didn’t. And keep your head up. You’re a great race car driver. You’ll figure it out,” Larson added.

Larson’s appreciation for Day amid tough times comes days after Rick Hendrick, the owner of HMS, personally met Day at the track. As also mentioned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Mr. Hendrick pulled the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver aside after back-to-back incidents at Daytona, Atlanta, and COTA.

Dale Jr. also added how he and Mr. Hendrick had a conversation with Day, where he said,

“We all got together, and we all sat down. Rick [Hendrick] had a conversation with Corey, and we’re all trying to help him understand, ‘Look, man, we want you here. We believe in you; we believe you’re a winner. We want to see you succeed. But we have to do this without being detrimental to each other.’”

Right from the start of the season, the rookie driver created a poor reputation for his name following his irrational and aggressive moves in back-to-back races in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. At Daytona, he was involved in a wreck with William Sawalich.

In Atlanta, Day was also involved in a multi-car wreck after his collision with Ryan Sieg. At COTA, Corey Day wrecked fan favorite Connor Zilisch while battling for a top-five finish. Besides reckless moves, the lack of accountability and controversial excuses also led fans not to like him.

As a consequence, the NASCAR fans were unimpressed with the Hendrick Motorsports prodigy, as they shared stern criticism. Denny Hamlin, one of NASCAR’s most experienced drivers, also voiced a similar concern.

Denny Hamlin calls out Hendrick Motorsports amid Corey Day row

Hendrick Motorsports brought in Corey Day, the shining Truck Series driver, and put him on an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series ride. However, weeks after the said move, numerous NASCAR figures, including Denny Hamlin, called Rick Hendrick’s team out over Day’s reckless and meaningless driving.

“I mean, you’ve seen good runs out of him,” Hamlin said in the Actions Detrimental podcast. “I haven’t seen a lot of great runs out of him. You’ve seen more mistakes than you’ve seen great runs. And like when I say mistakes, I mean big old blatant mistakes. And every weekend, some guys are upset.”

With this, Hamlin, a longtime NASCAR driver and a co-owner of a Cup Series team, raised serious questions about Hendrick Motorsports and how they handle developing drivers. Especially after he spoke about Day’s attitude after wrecking Zilisch at COTA.

With that said, it will be interesting to see if Corey Day puts his chin up, takes note, and can steer himself away from wrecks and controversies.