“We Will Be Watching”: Mark Martin Backs HMS Ace After Clash With Connor Zilisch

Neha Dwivedi | 01/03/2026
Corey Day

Corey Day’s start to life in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series has been strong, with a fifth-place finish at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday adding to a fourth-place result in Atlanta last weekend. But not everything has been smooth sailing for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

The driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet has earned plenty of plaudits for his recent performances and currently sits eighth in the standings after three races, backed by consecutive top-five finishes following an opening setback at Daytona.

Alongside the results, however, Day has also drawn attention for on-track incidents tied to contact with other drivers.

Posting on X, Day wrote, “P5 today at COTA. I appreciate @Hendrick17Team @TeamHendrick and @HendrickCars for bringing me fast cars week after week and believing in me. I would like to apologize to anyone I have upset these past couple weeks, I am making mistakes but I am definitely learning from them.”

“The mistakes I’ve made the past couple of weeks are a poor reflection of myself, and what I’ve been taught my whole life. I’m going to give 100% to make sure that the things that have happened these past weekends do not happen anymore,” he continued.

Martin reshared the message and wrote, “You have completed the first step by recognizing the issue. We will be watching @corey_day_”

Just last week, Day was involved in a multi-car crash at Atlanta Motor Speedway after forcing a three-wide situation on lap five that led to contact with Ryan Sieg. Sieg criticized the move over the radio and questioned Day’s presence in the series.

At COTA, Day was again involved in a late-race clash, making contact with Connor Zilisch while battling for a top-five position. The contact sent Zilisch into the wall and left him 21st. Over team radio, Zilisch criticized the move and said, “Same guy every week that does this.”

Day later said the contact was not planned and pointed to handling issues, while admitting he must improve his racecraft. For now, the start to his rookie campaign has coupled results with scrutiny, as drivers and fans debate his approach. Even so, his pace has delivered two top-five finishes early in the season.

Day has also spoken about the adjustment from dirt racing to pavement and said he plans to reach out to those affected by the incidents as he works through the transition.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Atlanta Motor Speedway Circuit of the Americas Connor Zilisch Corey Day COTA EchoPark Speedway Hendrick Motorsports Mark Martin NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series NASCAR Xfinity Series Ryan Sieg Trackhouse Racing

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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