Corey Day completes unlikely comeback to win 35th Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup
BUFFALO TWP — Corey Day didn’t think he had a chance 10 laps into the race.
Not long after, he was standing in victory lane, the winner of Wednesday night’s 35th Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway.
“If you’d asked me in Lap 10, I would’ve told you, ‘There’s no way we’re running even on the podium, much less winning that thing,’” said Day, who’d started in sixth place. “But I got my wing back and just calmed down in the car and tried to get the most out of it.
“We ended up winning somehow.”
The Clovis, Calif., native took home the $25,000 prize for winning the, 26-car, 35-lap feature, part of the High Limit Series.
After a yellow flag during the 25th lap, Day replaced Aaron Reutzel —who’d tumbled over the lip at Turn 4 and prompted the stoppage — in chasing down Rico Abreu. Another California native, Abreu began in the pole position and led until Lap 33, when Day tracked him down and passed him up on his outside on the second turn.
Abreu got back out front briefly on Turn 2 of the final lap before Day took the lead for good.
He also competes on the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
“It’s just really tricky,” Day said of the cushion at the top of Lernerville’s racetrack. “It’s super thin down there. We’re right on the edge, and there’s guys right in the middle, below you, the whole time, throwing dirt up to where you can’t really see the edge, so you’re just guessing off the feel. ... Rico just messed up enough there. I think in (turns) three and four, he got tied, and then he went to the bottom, being defensive in one and two and left me a lane.”
“That’s his style of racetrack right there, to rip the lip,” said Abreu, the 2024 Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup winner and defending High Limit Series crown-holder.
Tanner Holmes finished third, Anthony Macri fourth and Justin Peck fifth.
Abreu and Holmes pulled away from the pack in the second turn of the kickoff lap, then Abreu stretched out a commanding lead in the third. By the seventh lap, Abreu had worked his way into traffic, navigating by stragglers.
A caution flag during Lap 12 allowed Reutzel to speed by Holmes four laps later.
Earlier in the night, before the feature race, James McFadden, Chase Randall and Leyton Wagner didn’t complete the third heat race after a wreck that sent three cars rolling.
During the “B Main” race, Danny Sams III’s No. 24 car was tapped and swung around early, leading to a collision with Worthington native John Jerich’s car, which leaked a good bit of fuel after the wreck.
Cody Bova’s car was also hooked up and taken away during the stoppage. Bob Felmlee’s car was towed off, too.
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Cars start a heat race before the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at Lernerville Speedway. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Tanner Holmes gets ready for his heat race before the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at Lernerville Speedway. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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A beautiful backdrop during a heat race before the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at Lernerville Speedway. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Fans cheer on the winner of a heat race before the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at Lernerville Speedway. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Cars line up for a heat race before the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at Lernerville Speedway. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Rico Abreu from St. Helena, Calif., rips the corner past Bill Kiley from Cabot in a heat race before the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at Lernerville Speedway. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Crews take the track to check a driver that wrecked into two other sprint cars before a heat race in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at Lernerville Speedway. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Corey Day from Clovis, Calif., celebrates after winning the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Lernerville Speedway. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Corey Day from Clovis, Calif., celebrates after winning the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Lernerville Speedway. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
