Kyle Larson Shows Support for Corey Day Despite Slow Start With Hendrick Motorsports

Kyle Larson has seen this movie before. The criticism. The whispers. The veterans with crossed arms and sharp tongues are questioning whether a kid from the dirt deserves to be here. He lived it. And now he’s not about to let Corey Day drown in it alone.

The defending Cup Series champion stepped up this week with a public endorsement of his 20-year-old Hendrick Motorsports teammate, telling anyone who would listen that Day has the tools, the toughness, and the trajectory to make it in NASCAR.

Coming from Larson, that’s not a throwaway comment. That’s a stamp of approval that carries weight in every garage from Daytona to Phoenix.

“Keep his head high,” Larson told FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass. Simple words. But in NASCAR circles, they land loud.

1. Larson Knows What Day Is Going Through

This isn’t mentorship from a distance. Larson gets it in a way that few drivers can. He came up through dirt racing, too. He faced the same skeptics, the same raised eyebrows, the same unspoken question hanging in the air: Is this guy really ready for this level? Larson answered that question over time with wins, with grit, and eventually with a championship. Now he’s watching a young driver navigate the same turbulent stretch of road, and he’s not staying quiet about it. Day’s early 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season got rocky fast. Multiple incidents with JR Motorsports drivers, including a high-profile clash at COTA, put him under the microscope. Connor Zilisch didn’t hold back, calling Day an “absolute hack” after one of the incidents. Fans piled on. The noise got loud. But Larson didn’t flinch.

2. The Incidents That Started the Firestorm

The collisions came early and often. In Atlanta. At COTA. Each one added fuel to a growing narrative that Day, for all his dirt-track brilliance, wasn’t ready for the intensity of top-tier NASCAR competition. Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepped in. Meetings were held. Conversations happened behind closed doors. It was the kind of internal heat that can either forge a driver or break one. After the COTA fallout, something shifted. Day went to Phoenix and put together a clean, composed ninth-place finish. No incidents. No drama. Just speed and smart racing. Then came another top-10. Then another. Three straight, lifting him to eighth in the standings. Suddenly, the story wasn’t about a reckless kid crashing into competitors. It was about a young driver learning, adjusting, and delivering. Larson’s backing didn’t just help Day emotionally; it also sent a clear signal to the rest of the field. Hendrick Motorsports isn’t panicking. They’re not pulling back. They believe in their guy, and the sport’s greatest active driver is standing right beside him, saying the same thing. That matters more than people realize.

3. Why Larson’s Voice Carries So Much Power Here

Larson isn’t just a cheerleader. He’s a blueprint. His career arc, from dirt-track prodigy to NASCAR champion, is exactly the path Day is trying to walk. When Larson says the growing pains are normal, drivers and fans listen, because he isn’t guessing. He earned the right to say it. Hendrick Motorsports has built its reputation on developing talent like this. They did it with Larson. Before that, they did it with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and a long list of drivers who arrived raw and left legendary. The organization knows when to be patient with real talent. And according to Larson, the talent with Day is very real. The path forward is straightforward, even if it isn’t easy. Day needs to keep delivering what he’s shown over these past few weeks, such as clean laps, smart decisions, and consistent finishes. The top-10 streak is exactly the kind of momentum that quiets critics and builds confidence. There will be more tough tracks. More intense situations. Moments where Day’s aggressive instincts will get tested again. How he handles those moments will define what kind of NASCAR driver he becomes. But one thing is clear: he’s not walking into those moments alone. Larson is in his corner, and in NASCAR, that’s about as good a mentor as any rookie could ask for. The critics will keep talking. They always do. Day just has to keep racing.

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