Usually, it is tough for young racecar drivers not to let their emotions take over their actions behind the wheel. But not for Corey Day, not at least after Rick Hendrick’s intervention, the impact of which was clearly visible in how he approached racing against Kyle Larson.

Corey Day looks back on thrilling battle with Kyle Larson

In the High Limit season opener at Las Vegas, Corey Day and Kyle Larson shared a thrilling finish, which saw the 2x Cup champion emerge victorious against the young gun. Following the race, Day shared his thoughts on his speed and his issues with the traffic.

He claimed that the traffic was ‘pretty bad’, and the bottom was tough to hit. “If you run on the top it’d mess you up and if you run on the bottom you’d have to wait for them to miss it to get under them,” Day said. Because of this, he felt he had made a couple of bad decisions in traffic.

And Day knew that if it wasn’t for those bad decisions, he would have had a better chance at outsmarting Larson in the end. “I think if I wouldn’t have made those I’d have been to Kyle a little sooner. But that’s all right we got two more nights,” he admitted.

It’s worth mentioning that after his on-track incidents in NASCAR where he took out drivers associated with his own team, he got a stern talking-to by Rick Hendrick. This was something Dale Jr. revealed on his podcast following COTA.

Junior claimed that he, Mr. H, and Day got together with Hendrick leading the conversation with the intent of trying to make the young driver understand. Day was told that both Hendrick and Earnhardt Jr. want him, believe in him, and his prowess. But at the same time, he was told that he’ll have to contend for wins and be competitive without being a detriment to his own teammates.

Perhaps that advice struck deeply with Day as he emerged incident-free against Larson in the High Limit race.

Larson isn’t losing faith in Day despite the on-track incidents

Speaking to Bob Pockrass, Kyle Larson shared his thoughts on Corey Day’s current situation following his incidents with JR Motorsports driver. Larson admitted that Day has had a lot of rough Mondays this season with a lot of mentoring and work he had to go through.

“For me, it was lending support and just letting him know that we all believe in him and keep your head high and keep focused on the process,” Larson said. He claimed that most drivers have to go through such moments in their careers and Day will be fine.

In fact, the #5 driver believed that Day would emerge a better, more skilled, and knowledgeable driver from this rough stretch.

Larson emphasized that he has complete faith in Corey Day and looks forward to seeing his progression in NASCAR.