NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship comes down to one final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Corey Day faces a steep challenge if he wants to leave Florida with the title. The Hendrick Motorsports rookie enters the finale 23 points behind championship leader Justin Allgaier, with limited experience at the track. Ahead of the biggest race of his young stock car career, Day turned to one of Hendrick’s biggest stars for advice. But when asked what Kyle Larson told him, the 20-year-old wasn’t willing to share the details.

“Yeah, we talked. I’m not going to tell you what we talked about, though. Try to keep that private. But, yeah, I definitely feel good about it,” Corey Day told Steven Taranto.

Day is keeping the details of his conversation with Kyle Larson to himself, but the confidence he took from it was evident. The Hendrick Motorsports rookie had previously indicated that he wanted to pick Larson’s brain about Homestead after the two crossed paths at Martinsville. With the championship approaching, he followed through on that plan, turning to someone who knows the Florida track particularly well.

The conversation had actually been on Day’s mind since the Martinsville weekend. When speaking with reporters on pit road there, he mentioned that he intended to contact Larson and ask for advice before heading to Homestead. The timing made sense. Day had just finished third at Martinsville, recovering from an eventful race that included damage from an early restart incident. He had managed to keep his championship hopes alive, but the next challenge would be considerably different from the short-track battle in Virginia.

Larson was an obvious person to approach. The two share a background in dirt racing, and Larson has experienced the same transition from sprint cars to NASCAR’s national series. Day has also benefited from having him within the Hendrick organization throughout his development. Larson regularly sits on the pit box during the No. 17 team’s O’Reilly races, offering feedback and encouragement when needed.

Their relationship goes beyond occasional conversations about car setup. Larson was among the people who helped bring Day into Hendrick Motorsports after recognizing his potential in sprint car racing. Team owner Rick Hendrick and vice chairman Jeff Gordon eventually backed the move, signing Day in December 2024.

Larson understands the adjustment involved in moving from a relatively small dirt racing operation to an organization as large as Hendrick. He has previously explained that managing the people and resources around a major NASCAR team can be just as challenging as adapting to the cars themselves.

That experience makes Larson’s advice particularly valuable as Day prepares for his first O’Reilly Series start at Homestead. The 20-year-old has only two previous appearances at the 1.5-mile circuit, both in the Truck Series. He finished 16th in 2024 and 15th in 2025. Day has never competed there in an O’Reilly car, meaning he will have to adapt to a different vehicle while facing the biggest championship opportunity of his young career.

Day also has a specific reason to trust the No. 17 team’s potential at the track. As he explained, “I think, like I said, the 17 was really good here the last time he was in it. I think we’ve made some gains on our car since then, and, you know, I feel, you know, confident in my ability to win, so I’m not going to overthink it. Like I said, the task is simple of what we need to do.”

He was referring to Larson’s performance in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet at Homestead in March 2025. Larson led 132 laps in that O’Reilly Series race and appeared poised to take the victory before a late caution sent the event into overtime. He ultimately finished fourth after Justin Allgaier took the win. The performance nevertheless demonstrated the speed Hendrick could bring to the intermediate track.

Day believes the team has improved since that outing, giving him another reason to feel confident. His own 2026 campaign has also provided plenty of momentum. He has already collected four victories, including back-to-back wins at Las Vegas and Charlotte, and has become a consistent contender in the No. 17 Chevrolet.

Now, the challenge is to translate that speed into a championship-clinching performance. Day knows the opportunity in front of him and does not want to complicate the task with unnecessary pressure. Larson’s experience can help him prepare, but the final decisions will come down to Day and his team once the race begins. He may be keeping their private conversation secret, but his message about Homestead is clear: he believes the No. 17 can win, and he intends to give himself every chance to do it.