Corey Day won the Knight Before the King's Royal Friday (Tyler Carr Photo) (Video Highlights from DirtVision.com)
Day fends off Reutzel for second Eldora win this week and builds momentum heading into the Kings Royal
ROSSBURG, OH (July 17, 2026) - Corey Day doesn’t get to drive Sprint Cars too often these days, but he sure makes the most of the opportunities when they come.
The Clovis, CA native spends most weekends wheeling for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series as he climbs through the elite levels of pavement racing.
But he’ll never forget where he came from. Sprint Cars remain close to heart, and he jumps back in the Jason Meyers Racing ride whenever time permits.
As luck would have it, Day’s duties with “Mr. H” weren’t required this weekend with the tour taking it off. The timing couldn’t be better with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series invading Eldora Speedway for the 43rd Kings Royal. Action opened on Friday with The Knight Before the Kings Royal, and Day’s 2026 season debut with The Greatest Show on Dirt ended in Victory Lane.
The 20-year-old survived several restarts during a chaotic 30-lapper and fended off a charge from Aaron Reutzel to get the job done and bank $25,000. Reutzel took one peek to Day’s inside midway through the race, but Day closed the door, got his elbows up, and took off after the challenge on his way to the win.
“Yeah, it was tough,” Day said. “When you lead those races like that, you get to lapped traffic for only a couple laps and it’s really hard to gauge how good where you’re running on the track is. I thought that when I got to traffic and moved to the top I made really good speed, but it was close enough to what I was doing on the bottom that I was really unsure. Then someone got a run on me on the bottom of (Turn) 1 there before the last caution. I didn’t know if it came from the top. I kind of missed the bottom, so I also didn’t know if it came from them hitting the bottom. But I would’ve rather had my speed up around the top, and if I would’ve seen a nose I could’ve gotten down rather than the other way.”
Day’s triumph was his fourth in only 10 Sprint Car races this year. It was his second this week at Eldora to go along with a Wednesday Double Down Duel$ main event. He’s now got four career victories in 44 career World of Outlaws starts. Momentum is on Day’s side as his focus now turns to chasing the Kings Royal crown and $200,000 in riches.
Aaron Reutzel finished second in the Ridge and Sons Racing No. 87 after starting in the third row. Like Day, he’ll chase his first Kings Royal title Saturday.
Garet Williamson continues to bang on the door of his first career World of Outlaws win as he put the Fischer Motorsports No. 23 on the final step of the podium. It’s his fourth top three in the last seven Series races.
Brady Bacon and Rico Abreu completed the top five.
NIGHTLY NOTES
Ashton Torgerson clocked the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night.
Sheldon Haudenschild set Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.
Heat Races belonged to Brady Bacon (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Tyler Courtney (Knoxville Bound Heat Two), Sheldon Haudenschild (WIX Filters Heat Three), and Garet Williamson (Golf Cart Services Heat Four).
The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Corey Day.
Day also topped the Toyota Dash.
Emerson Axsom won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.
Logan Schuchart wheeled from 25th to eighth to pick up KSE Racing Products Hard Charger honors.
David Gravel was the Tub O’ Towels Seventh Place Finisher.
Ashton Torgerson was the Five Star Bodies Rookie of the Race.
Corey Day laid down the ACME Trading Company Fast Lap.
The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Buddy Kofoid.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will crown a King and hand out $200,000 to the winner at Eldora Speedway’s 43rd Kings Royal on Saturday, July 18. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
Where can you watch every World of Outlaws race? Live on DIRTVision.
Where can you see the World of Outlaws in 2026? Click to see the full schedule.
NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 14M-Corey Day[1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[5]; 3. 23-Garet Williamson[2]; 4. 21H-Brady Bacon[3]; 5. 14-Rico Abreu[10]; 6. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 7. 2-David Gravel[15]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart[25]; 9. 9-Daison Pursley[17]; 10. 17GP-Brock Zearfoss[18]; 11. 10-Ryan Timms[7]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz[26]; 13. 5B-Karter Sarff[19]; 14. 41-Carson Macedo[11]; 15. (DNF) 21-Brian Brown[8]; 16. (DNF) 51-Ashton Torgerson[12]; 17. (DNF) 7BC-Tyler Courtney[6]; 18. (DNF) 19-Brent Marks[16]; 19. (DNF) 27-Emerson Axsom[21]; 20. (DNF) 26-Justin Peck[14]; 21. (DNF) 5-Brenham Crouch[9]; 22. (DNF) 24D-Danny Sams III[24]; 23. (DNF) 55-Kerry Madsen[13]; 24. (DNF) 42-Sye Lynch[20]; 25. (DNF) 83-Michael Kofoid[23]; 26. (DNF) 17-Spencer Bayston[27]; 27. (DNS) 13-Tanner Holmes
MicroLite Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps): 1. 27-Emerson Axsom[1]; 2. 13-Tanner Holmes[2]; 3. 83-Michael Kofoid[4]; 4. 24D-Danny Sams III[3]; 5. 33W-Cap Henry[6]; 6. 9R-Chase Randall[8]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart[7]; 8. 1A-Cameron Smith[5]; 9. 101-Kalib Henry[12]; 10. 88-Tanner Thorson[11]; 11. 1K-Kelby Watt[18]; 12. 16C-Skylar Gee[14]; 13. 21T-James McFadden[16]; 14. G5-Gage Pulkrabek; 15. 6-Brad Lamberson; 16. (DNS) 77-Giovanni Scelzi; 17. (DNS) 39M-Anthony Macri; 18. (DNS) 15K-Creed Kemenah; 19. (DNS) 87X-Steven Snyder Jr; 20. (DNS) 23D-Chase Dietz; 21. (DNS) 28M-Conner Morrell; 22. (DNS) 19JR-Joel Myers Jr
C Feature (10 Laps): 1. G5-Gage Pulkrabek[7]; 2. 6-Brad Lamberson[10]; 3. 14Z-Zane DeVault[5]; 4. 22-Brandon Spithaler[8]; 5. 98-Ricky Peterson[14]; 6. 11N-Darin Naida[12]; 7. 11-TJ Stutts[18]; 8. (DNF) 5J-Jeremy Weaver[16]; 9. (DNS) 27H-Bryce Lucius; 10. (DNS) 94-Brad Sweet; 11. (DNS) 7S-Chris Windom; 12. (DNS) 71-Parker Price Miller; 13. (DNS) 2C-Cole Macedo; 14. (DNS) 45W-Cory Eliason; 15. (DNS) 17B-Bill Balog; 16. (DNS) 15-Donny Schatz; 17. (DNS) 17-Spencer Bayston; 18. (DNS) 97-Zach Hampton; 19. (DNS) 15C-Chris Andrews
Toyota Dash (6 Laps): 1. 14M-Corey Day[1]; 2. 23-Garet Williamson[2]; 3. 21H-Brady Bacon[4]; 4. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[6]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[8]; 7. 10-Ryan Timms[7]; 8. 21-Brian Brown[5]
NOS Energy Drink Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 21H-Brady Bacon[1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown[4]; 3. 5-Brenham Crouch[2]; 4. 55-Kerry Madsen[3]; 5. 9-Daison Pursley[6]; 6. 24D-Danny Sams III; 7. 27-Emerson Axsom[5]; 8. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[7]; 9. (DNS) 15K-Creed Kemenah; 10. (DNS) 23D-Chase Dietz; 11. (DNS) 27H-Bryce Lucius
Knoxville Bound Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[2]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[4]; 4. 2-David Gravel[6]; 5. 5B-Karter Sarff[3]; 6. 1A-Cameron Smith[7]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart[8]; 8. 88-Tanner Thorson[10]; 9. 87X-Steven Snyder Jr; 10. 28M-Conner Morrell[9]; 11. (DNS) 94-Brad Sweet
WIX Filters Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[1]; 2. 10-Ryan Timms[2]; 3. 14-Rico Abreu[4]; 4. 26-Justin Peck[3]; 5. 17GP-Brock Zearfoss[6]; 6. 13-Tanner Holmes[5]; 7. 33W-Cap Henry[8]; 8. 39M-Anthony Macri[7]; 9. 16C-Skylar Gee; 10. 1K-Kelby Watt[9]; 11. 7S-Chris Windom[10]
Golf Cart Services Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 23-Garet Williamson[1]; 2. 14M-Corey Day[2]; 3. 51-Ashton Torgerson[4]; 4. 19-Brent Marks[6]; 5. 42-Sye Lynch[3]; 6. 83-Michael Kofoid[8]; 7. 9R-Chase Randall[5]; 8. 101-Kalib Henry[9]; 9. 21T-James McFadden[10]; 10. 19JR-Joel Myers Jr; 11. (DNS) 71-Parker Price Miller
Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying Flight A (2 Laps): 1. 21H-Brady Bacon, 12.811[5]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 12.866[10]; 3. 5-Brenham Crouch, 12.885[28]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12.931[17]; 5. 55-Kerry Madsen, 12.944[22]; 6. 5B-Karter Sarff, 12.945[4]; 7. 21-Brian Brown, 12.949[29]; 8. 41-Carson Macedo, 12.977[9]; 9. 27-Emerson Axsom, 13.013[14]; 10. 94-Brad Sweet, 13.014[23]; 11. 9-Daison Pursley, 13.019[27]; 12. 2-David Gravel, 13.033[16]; 13. 77-Giovanni Scelzi, 13.045[18]; 14. 1A-Cameron Smith, 13.049[24]; 15. 15K-Creed Kemenah, 13.078[3]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.089[19]; 17. 23D-Chase Dietz, 13.096[26]; 18. 28M-Conner Morrell, 13.135[20]; 19. 27H-Bryce Lucius, 13.161[25]; 20. 88-Tanner Thorson, 13.167[2]; 21. 24D-Danny Sams III, 13.171[21]; 22. 87X-Steven Snyder Jr, 13.175[11]; 23. 45W-Cory Eliason, 13.212[7]; 24. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.215[12]; 25. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.248[6]; 26. 14Z-Zane DeVault, 13.262[8]; 27. G5-Gage Pulkrabek, 13.295[30]; 28. 17-Spencer Bayston, 13.305[15]; 29. 97-Zach Hampton, 13.311[13]; 30. 15C-Chris Andrews, 13.317[1]
Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying Flight B (2 Laps): 1. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.775[3]; 2. 23-Garet Williamson, 12.795[14]; 3. 10-Ryan Timms, 12.854[4]; 4. 14M-Corey Day, 12.856[7]; 5. 26-Justin Peck, 12.857[6]; 6. 42-Sye Lynch, 12.872[21]; 7. 14-Rico Abreu, 12.894[20]; 8. 51-Ashton Torgerson, 12.953[25]; 9. 13-Tanner Holmes, 12.973[8]; 10. 9R-Chase Randall, 13.037[16]; 11. 17GP-Brock Zearfoss, 13.043[2]; 12. 19-Brent Marks, 13.053[5]; 13. 39M-Anthony Macri, 13.099[9]; 14. 71-Parker Price Miller, 13.101[24]; 15. 33W-Cap Henry, 13.114[10]; 16. 83-Michael Kofoid, 13.130[19]; 17. 1K-Kelby Watt, 13.144[27]; 18. 101-Kalib Henry, 13.148[18]; 19. 7S-Chris Windom, 13.164[22]; 20. 21T-James McFadden, 13.176[13]; 21. 19JR-Joel Myers Jr, 13.223[26]; 22. 16C-Skylar Gee, 13.238[1]; 23. 2C-Cole Macedo, 13.258[23]; 24. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 13.333[12]; 25. 98-Ricky Peterson, 13.361[11]; 26. 6-Brad Lamberson, 13.440[28]; 27. 5J-Jeremy Weaver, 13.448[17]; 28. 11-TJ Stutts, 13.455[15]; 29. 11N-Darin Naida[29]
Non-Qualifier Flight A (8 Laps): 1. 24D-Danny Sams III[1]; 2. 87X-Steven Snyder Jr[2]; 3. 14Z-Zane DeVault[6]; 4. G5-Gage Pulkrabek[7]; 5. 45W-Cory Eliason[3]; 6. (DNS) 17B-Bill Balog; 7. (DNS) 15-Donny Schatz; 8. (DNS) 17-Spencer Bayston; 9. (DNS) 97-Zach Hampton; 10. (DNS) 15C-Chris Andrews
Non-Qualifier Flight B (8 Laps): 1. 16C-Skylar Gee[2]; 2. 19JR-Joel Myers Jr[1]; 3. 2C-Cole Macedo[3]; 4. 22-Brandon Spithaler[4]; 5. 6-Brad Lamberson[6]; 6. 11N-Darin Naida[9]; 7. 98-Ricky Peterson[5]; 8. 5J-Jeremy Weaver[7]; 9. (DNS) 11-TJ Stutts