Coming into the 2026 season, Corey Day has shown his class. The Hendrick Motorsports prodigy, who is regarded very highly, won the recently concluded Dover O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race, and from then on, there have been constant talks about his upgrade to the top tier — the Cup Series. However, Denny Hamlin is reluctant to approve such a promotion as yet.

In a recent episode of his "Actions Detrimental" podcast, Hamlin shed light on Day's improvement as a driver and whether he was ready for the jump to Cup. When asked what Rick Hendrick's prodigy could do to make things work for 2027, the three-time Daytona 500 winner said:

"Nothing. The cars don't relate. It's just continuing to work on your craft, managing races, understanding down and distance every restart. Those things, just those things."

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver emphasized how just winning races in NOAPS is not a parameter for the Cup Series promotion. It's the little things, such as composure, strong mentality, and ample experience, that make a driver mature and ready for NASCAR's top tier.

"There's not any kind of results, that's like, 'Ah! Yes, he won Phoenix, so he is ready.' No. It's all the little intangibles that you got to have for Sunday that, and it's not results, and I can't emphasize that enough. The results is one piece of it, but it's just to prepare yourself for Sunday. It's having those green-white checker restarts at the end, and you get it done, and you know those high-pressure situations," Hamlin further added.

Notably, Day won two races recently in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race this season. One at Talladega, and another at Dover.

Interestingly, Denny Hamlin's statement can also be related to Connor Zilisch's rise to the top. Having won 11 races last year in the Xfinity Series, Zilisch was regarded as a top talent. Consequently, he found a seat in the topmost tier of NASCAR.

However, he failed to deliver and live up to his expectations, something Hamlin shed light on.

Denny Hamlin Highlights Connor Zilisch's Failure To Perform In 2026

Connor Zilisch made his debut in the Cup Series under full-time obligation in 2026, and people put ample expectations on him. However, the Trackhouse Racing driver has failed to deliver so far and has come under scrutiny multiple times, including Denny Hamlin's.

"Connor is not performing like we thought," Hamlin said in April. "I don’t know. I think some of it (performance) comes with time. I don’t know how much of it is Connor, how much of it is car."

However, Hamlin also highlighted that Trackhouse Racing, as an organization, is struggling. The silver lining for them has been Shane van Gisbergen's road circuit prowess, which won him a race at Watkins Glen earlier this month.

12 races into the 2026 NASCAR season, Connor Zilisch has recorded a best finish of 14th at COTA. He has yet to come near the Top 10, and his next opportunity is the upcoming crown jewel at Charlotte, the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Yask Kotak