A high-profile NASCAR prospect will lead the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series field to the green flag Saturday afternoon at Rockingham Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET On CW).
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Hendrick Motorsports developmental driver Corey Day won the pole at the historic North Carolina track. He posted a lap of 22.717 seconds. This marks his first career pole win in 19 career races.
Defending O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love qualified second. He posted a lap of 22.781 seconds. This marks his seventh top-10 start this season. He also started second at Daytona International Speedway to start the season.
MORE: Rockingham Speedway O'Reilly Auto Parts Series lineup
"It felt really good," Day said about his lap. "We got really, really good cars. So thanks to my guys, it always makes my job easy when it's that good.
"So yeah, super excited for the race tomorrow. Definitely a good spot, and I think track position is going to be pretty crucial. So yeah, sets us up about as good as you can."
The rest of the top 10 included Parker Retzlaff (22.822), Justin Allgaier (22.823), Carson Kvapil (22.839), Taylor Gray (22.850), Sam Mayer (22.852), Brandon Jones (22.860), Sheldon Creed (22.863), and Brent Crews (22.888).
Talk about a lap from @corey_day_!
The @TeamHendrick driver wins the Kennametal Pole at @Rockingham1965! pic.twitter.com/aQGuItqK0w
— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) April 3, 2026
Sammy Smith, the defending winner at Rockingham Speedway, will have to work his way through the field if he hopes to repeat. He qualified 19th with a lap of 23.088 seconds.
Cleetus McFarland, the YouTuber-turned-race car driver, will make his O'Reilly Auto Parts Series debut on Saturday at Rockingham Speedway. He qualified 35th at the track. He posted a lap of 23.978 seconds and lined up according to owner's points.
The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at the 1-mile paved track will take place at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. CW will provide coverage with Adam Alexander, Jamie McMurray, and Parker Kligerman in the booth. Kim Coon and Dillon Welch will serve as pit reporters for the eighth race of the season.
