Corey Day speaks out on being “compared” to Kyle Larson with his firm “opinion”

Corey Day has spoken out, expressing his "honor" in being compared to Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion. This comes after the 19-year-old prodigy recently got tapped by Hendrick Motorsports for the Xfinity Series, Truck Series, and ARCA Series.

Day has been on the radar for making his HMS debut since September 2023. He is among the few drivers for whose prowess the four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon vouched. The Californian is the youngest-ever winner of the 2021 USAC National Series, earning the accolade at 15.

This past season, he debuted in the Truck Series for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, piloting two races apiece for the #81 and #91 Chevy trucks. And ahead of the 2025 season, Corey Day has landed a big deal with HMS.

The teenager opened up on being compared to Kyle Larson, outlining the latter as the "best race car driver."

“It’s an honor to be compared to Kyle Larson,” Day said. “He is, in my opinion, and I’m sure a lot of other people’s, the best race car driver in the world. So to be compared to him and talked about in the same sentence is really cool," Day said via Sportsnaut.

“It doesn’t add too much more pressure on me. I feel like if I added more than I couldn’t do the job I was hired to do. So I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and if I do that, then I’ll keep getting compared to him,” he added.

It's worth mentioning that Larson cited Day as the "best prospect" in the driver market.

Corey Day reveals a funny story about his HMS recruitment involving Jeff Gordon

After driving for HMS and contributing to four Cup Series championships for the team, Jeff Gordon kept an eagle eye on the noteworthy talents in the market. He convinced Rick Hendrick to hire Jimmie Johnson for a full-time seat, and the rest is history -seven Cup Series championships with five consecutive.

Moving forward, Gordon wanted Corey on board and texted his father, asking if his son would like to pursue a career in NASCAR. Day's father didn't take that seriously, asking the legendary driver to send his picture to prove he was the real person.

Unbeknownst to him, Gordon sent the picture.

Day recalled the hilarious moment during an ARCA media session at Daytona, revealing the hilarious moment.

“My dad showed me the text and was like, ‘do you think this is real,’ and then asked Jeff to send him a picture to make sure he was the real Jeff Gordon. He did send a photo, I’ll have to go get on my dad’s phone and screen shot the conversation. It was hilarious and we were laughing once we had the realization, ‘oh crap, this is Jeff Gordon and this is real.’ So yeah, that was cool," Corey Day said via Sportsnaut.

Corey Day will register his debut Xfinity run in the #17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and will make Truck Series and ARCA Series starts for Spire Motorsports with HendrickCars.com as the primary sponsor.