Corey Day overcame a significant pre-race setback to finish sixth in Saturday's The Progress Group 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, keeping himself firmly in championship contention. The Hendrick Motorsports rookie qualified 10th but was required to start at the rear after his team changed engines.
Despite the setback, Day quickly advanced through the field, reaching the top five during the opening laps. His No. 17 Chevrolet demonstrated impressive speed as he worked alongside the JR Motorsports competitors. Day finished fourth in Stage 1, collecting seven points, before adding another six points with a fifth-place finish in Stage 2.
He also led four laps during the afternoon, continuing to demonstrate his improvement on NASCAR's drafting tracks.
Day remained competitive throughout the final stage, avoiding the incidents that disrupted several championship contenders.He ultimately finished sixth, completing all 94 laps and earning 44 points.
The result allowed Day to reduce his championship deficit by another 10 points while remaining third in the standings. He now has 2,372 points, sitting just 29 behind championship leader Jesse Love.
With a runner-up finish at Martinsville earlier this season, Day enters the final two races with a strong opportunity to challenge for the championship.
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Corey Day looking to stay in touch of points lead at Martinsville
