The Dale Jr. Download - The Curious Case of Corey Day & Cleetus McFarland's Goal At RCR

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

Buckle up, it's time to go for a ride on the Dirty Thirty Express! In just 30 mins, you'll see, hear, and feel the very best Dirty Mo Media has to offer from this week. This one is locked, loaded, and ready to rip. Dale Jr. starts us off with a conversation around the NOAPS driver making a lot of waves recently: Corey Day. He describes the conversation he had with the young racer, how the team dynamics work between JRM and Hendrick Motorsports, and what he sees happening moving forward with Day. Next up, Denny Hamlin talks about the wreck he didn't realize he caused, which resulted in Connor Zilisch going for (another) spin in COTA's turn one. He goes on to praise the driver of the No. 88 and says SVG might not have it so easy on the road courses this year, thanks to his new teammate. In another supercharged segment, Karsyn Elledge describes her point of view from the volatile CARS Tour victory lane. The short track racing world took notice of the moment and learned a valuable lesson: you DON'T mess with the Elledge sisters. Over on Bless Your 'Hardt this week, Dale tells Amy the full story behind Isla saying her first cuss word — and how a small part of him felt so proud. This is a story you're going to want to catch. Lastly, the internet's favorite mullet-having, sleeveless shirt-wearing, helicopter-flying personality stopped by the Arby's studio to talk about his new RCR deal. In this segment, he discusses the noise from the haters, his fans, and what he hopes to accomplish racing in the O'Reilly Auto Parts series. Check out Dirty Mo Media on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DirtyMoMedia  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, everybody, I'm Dillon Hart Jr. And this is The Dirty 30. The best highlights from all of our podcast this week, 30 minutes every single Friday. The Dirty 30 coming at you. Let's get right to it. This episode of The Dirty 30 is presented by Arby's new Meat in Three Box. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We have the meats.

Hey, let's talk about this. Out of the way. Here comes Cory Day. He's back at it again. That's a great slogan. Say, all right. So listen here. Listen here.

All right. This is a very, very, this is a very tough situation to be in for me. I met with Corey in Daytona. We talked about drafting. I spent about an hour talking to him, and he is a good dude. Talented. Very talented. Very.

Very talented. But he, Connor Zilich was a little disappointed, I guess, in his demeanor post-race, right? And his, you know, Corey doesn't kind of know exactly what to do in those moments or doesn't seem to be interested in, you know, owning his mistake. You know, it's always, well, you know, the splitter was this, the flat, the tire was flat, this and that other. That's annoying. Well, yeah. And so, and, but, you know, I've, I want to say that I talked to Corey for quite a while at Daytona. he is a good guy and he is in

he's not in over his head but dude is drinking from a fire hose he's got he's got a lot of race car that 17 car coming out of the Hendrick shop we share all of our notes with them everything that we do well they have they know this information

they're a fifth team of ours They're their crew chief, Adam. He used to work here as a crew chief. They're in our meetings. Corey Day was in our comp meeting yesterday. Was your engineer at one point? Yep. They're all, they're a 15.

They just happen to race out of the Hendrick building. And that's the way I, it has to work. That's the way Mr. Hendrick wants it to work. Jeff Gordon. Everybody that, you know, we all want that, that 17 car is a teammate

to us. And we all, everybody, except for the drivers, seem to get that idea. And I say drivers because I've got a little story. But before I get to that, Corey has a ton

of talent, as you mentioned. He's got a lot of race car and he's got no experience. And he's run a handful of races last year and now his car is even better. he's starting to run closer to the front and he's just in over his skis in a bunch of moments

um did he wreck did he go through that S do I think he didn't go through the S's and go man I'm just clean this one car out but he is control he's in control of the car and he has to realize that's my teammate

that is a teammate car and Rick Hendrick owns the car I'm driving and Rick Hendrick owns the car that I'm going to spin out. And he has to drive his car and control it so that it doesn't cause that accident, right? And that's what we're asking him to do. It doesn't help. It was two weeks in a row.

That was the next thing I was going to say. It's two weeks in a row of kind of the, it's two weeks in a row of the same thing. And we all got together and we all sat down. Rick had a conversation with Corey and we're all trying to help him understand look man we want you here we believe in you we believe you're a winner

we want to see you succeed but we have to do this without being you know without it being detrimental to each other and so it's just a process I know it looks ugly to fans who are watching it it's hard for our teams

it's hard for all our employees to see our car get run over like that with very little regard. But it's part of the process of trying to, you know, trying to school up these guys to become the drivers that we think they're capable of becoming. And, you know, we just continue to press that if you're, you know,

if you're making mistakes, there are consequences to those very severe consequences. We will have to fix this, or there will be severe consequences. And I thought this was a great opportunity that the message be shared amongst all of our drivers. What Corey's doing is nothing new. We've had teammate issues in the past. We will have them in the future. when you bring all of these young kids into the same building.

They are all on different paths. They are all eager to get that next opportunity. They're all eager to get that call from Rick or track house or somebody. Many owner. And they aren't looking at their teammate in the car next to them as a long, term relationship. They aren't in a cup team where, you know, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott have to figure it out and get along because they're

going to be racing together for 10 years out of the same building. They're not in that situation. They're here thinking in their mind, well, if everything works out, I'm here for a year or two, then I'm gone. And this guy that's my teammate, I won't be teammates with him ever again. And so they don't try the drivers themselves do. not try to nurture or create relationships with their teammates. They don't.

It's transactional. They get in the race car. They have no relationship to the car. They don't know where the spindles came from. They don't know the history of the chassis. They don't know where it race last. They don't know where the motor came from. How many races is on that?

They don't know who... When we used to, you know, 20 years ago, we knew all that. Hell, we named our damn race cars. They had person. That's true. They had freaking personality. We had our favorites. They don't even think about it.

And they go out there and they rip the sides off of them and run into things, all of them. And then they come back to the shop and all of our guys unload them out of the holler. And it's a freaking, just depressing. So do you feel like after yesterday things will progress in a better, like... It is a... Yes, things are... With everything that we said and all the conversations that we had, I, 100% expect a clean slate.

I mean a clean slate. Our drivers should have no animosity towards Corey. Corey should look at this as an opportunity to start anew and start to build a rapport and a reputation that he wants to have. And he's just learning how to handle these things. I too think that, you know, he comes from a completely different discipline. And that, you know, that culture in the garage, the mindset. of a racer in the in the world that he's lived in it's completely different not not better or

worse just different and so he's coming here and having to learn like wow okay i got four guys out there that i have to race uniquely comparable to the competition um you know and so he's got to have he's processing all this stuff for the first time in his life um but i think that you know a lot of hard conversations were had this week i expect things to improve. And that, you know, Corey Day isn't the only one on the racetrack in our group making bad decisions. So, you know, we had a lot of conversations this week about expectations, etiquette, respect, you know, what we, what should happen going forward, what can never happen

going forward. And again, not a new conversation. we've been here before. Hey guys, welcome to Axum's Determental Post-Cota. Have you seen the driving etiquette at all change now that we're in this new point structure towards the end of these races? It seemed calmer to me. It seemed calmer to me.

I mean, short of the Zillich thing in turn one, that... News Flash, I had no idea that I caused that. Twitter did. I had no idea. I had no idea. I just barely got in the back of Byron, I think. And then it ricocheted him, ricocheted him. So I was that guy this weekend.

God, that sucks. I really thought that I had a complete race. in the sense of like, I did from a lap time perspective. My goal, this race is like, not, if you look at the lap time graph, my goal is to never not have any of these laps that pop way up and then you lose eight to ten positions.

You know what I mean? I just, let's just like have a day. And no incidents, no contact, no nothing. And I thought I did. And then I see it at the end of the race and I'm like, oh, shit. like actually I was part of that turn one thing so apologies to them Connor holy crap I was he did he have a legit shot to win this race on speed I mean he

drove through the pack right I don't know if he did or didn't I'd but he just seemed like he was everywhere he did drive through the pack though he got wiped out twice what was the first time uh Suarez hmm he had a weekend Connor Zillich he did he did that's that's actually top of the list Zillich and day

we'll get to that but I think that SVG is about to have company in the road course domination bracket

it appears Zillich is really really I mean he's already got the racecraft to pass and make speed. He didn't qualify well, didn't practice, you know, great. I mean, he had good speed, but not great speed. But as the weekend went on, he just kept getting better and faster. So I think that we're going to be talking about him for definitely a handful of races here. We'll return left and right. Yeah, Connor's one of these guys, too,

that he's buried in points in 30 seconds, but I feel like in the first three races. It's not. It's He's passed the eye test. Oh, yeah. Yeah. No question about it. I mean, Atlanta, he was a little aggressive and whatnot. I get it. He's wanting to just go right from the beginning.

But yeah, passing the eye test. That's why I think that whole you need three years. Such a sham. That is a Ponzi scheme. Hey, what's up, everybody? Welcome back to Door Bumper Clear. I'm Freddie Craftspotter. for Bubba Wallace. How are you, Carson?

I'm good. I'm good. I had a pretty uneventful weekend. Slow news week. Yeah, slow news week in the cars tour. Do we want to clear the air that we... Did I hear you say my verse? I'm sick of you. No. I'm tired of you, Mother-Bin. As you were flinging Barnsey out of it away?

Who are Barnsey? So it actually was my sister that you see in the video that is slinging him backwards with Josh Kosick. I was on the other side. when he went in the window, at first, like if they were going to come up and just have a little heated conversation, he's going to get in the window, say, hey, fuck you, man, whatever, and walk away.

Like, I was going to give him the opportunity to do that. But the second that his hands went in the window, dad, I'm like, all right. So I grab around his arm, and I, like, muslim as hard as I can with my body, like, towards just away. And then I see Kennedy, and she's standing there like this. And he falls into her arms and Josh's arms, and they just finished him the rest of the way off. And I think a lot of people thought that Kenner,

was me because we do look alike. But the bad that was yarding them backwards was my sister. I thought it was you. Kennedy became the Muppet now. So we're going to hang Kennedy's picture. Thank God I'm going to get replaced. I do want to be clear that was,

you would have done that for whoever won the race. That's the other thing is, while yes, it was in a J.R.M. Car and Victory Lane. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, next. I would have had to do that no matter who it was. I mean, that's your victory lane.

That is what I'm saying. That's the one thing like she runs it. Like, this is my shit. I know. And like, it's crazy. The list of things that have happened to me since managing Victory Lane, I've gotten ran over by Spencer Davis. I've taken a champagne court to the eye.

Thank you, T.J. I got thrown up on by a child. I've poured water down Kate and Clapples back. Was that T.J. also? No, I think that was one of Kendall Sellers kids, maybe. And then I think, and then now we've gotten in a fight. So it's, yeah, it's never a dull moment at the car. store.

I appreciate all the advice you've been given me too. I'm always open to help you, man. I mean, you're a good guy. I want you to have a great experience. I think you're genuine at heart. And I think you really do, you know, want some, want feedback and helpful information.

Anytime I've been critical, you text me and said, hey, man, I saw your thing and I appreciate the stuff. You know, I saw what you said. And I appreciate what you said. You know, sometimes people don't take that stuff very well. You know, some drivers don't know how to. Yeah. Some drivers don't know how to hear criticism. Yeah. It's one of those things. You know, I think being a YouTuber for so long, like I've just, I've had everything in the world said about me, you know?

And I expect way more. When I went into drag racing, I was the class clown. They all thought I was a joke because of the way I had my car set up and the way we ran it. It was a joke, you know? And I think right now I'm the rookie and people can say whatever. they want but when when I keep coming back every time and they realize that their words don't affect me time and time again they're going to run out of breath yeah because as long as I'm having fun yeah I'm going to keep showing up at these NASCAR races and whether I'm in ARCA truck or O'Reilly's their words on Facebook will not change the fact that I'm going to come back and try again as long as I'm having fun I love that I feel like I feel like that Everybody can get behind the idea of partnering up with RCR because of the tools and the help that they'll give you to get better. I think everybody can get behind the idea of you getting a late model.

Even if you're just racing laps at your own track on a Tuesday afternoon, just getting laps, right? Four sets of tires go out there and spend four hours by yourself. It don't matter. I think when people see that and then you run an Arkemower, just a little bit of work into it. Just a little bit of work. That's all I think they need to see. And I think to your point, too, it's like, for me, the getting a sponsor is ever, a lot of guys have to rely on their driving skills to get sponsorships. And for me, I'm relying on something else.

So to have this ticket in with, you know, no driver skills show up and just do stupid stuff. Like, I absolutely understand the criticism. And that's why I'm hoping to do exactly what you said I should do. and then understand that wedge a little more. I didn't realize, you know, in stock car racing, the Crown Vic stuff is great. Symmetrical load. But it's symmetrical load,

and it just doesn't teach you what you need to know. The wedge is, that's what I got humbled by. Well, I look forward to seeing what you do this year, man, and talking to you over the course of the process. And I appreciate you coming today. Oh, man. So do you know what the races you're running?

Can you tell us what race is your running for RCR? This is actually something I meant to talk about. So we intended to run the Super Speedways. Sure. Because I told them that's what I want to do. I love the Super Speedways. But NASCAR said I cannot run Talladega unless I go to Rockingham first and do well. So the plan is I run Rockingham.

Don't do anything stupid. That's soon. That's soon. Yeah. And I get a rookie test. Yeah. And then I'm going to go to Rockingham. Rockingham, do the actual race.

Is the rookie test at Rockingham? Yep. Yep. So do you know when that is? I do. Can't tell me. Do you want to go? I don't want to say it on here, but.

Okay. Yeah, you can tell me later. Okay. Just so it's, you know. Yeah. We're not being filmed. Don't want to be, yeah, I don't want everybody to show up. I just don't want any pressure that.

I know. But if you want to go, that would great. Dude, you're like the, that's what people want to see is that you're like self-aware about, you know, man, hey, I want to go there. I don't want any pressure. I just want to focus on this. I want to do this right. That's all I want to do is, I like, I have to almost take off my YouTuber hat when I get in these cars, which is not the usual case.

In the drag cars, I can stay a YouTube. I can stay Cletus. But when I get in these damn NASCAR, I got to start taking that hat off. But, all right, so you're running Rockingham? Do Rockingham. If everything goes well. Yeah, then it's in NASCAR's hands to. Oh, one, oh, just Rockingham.

And if you do well, they might clear you. for Talada. For Talada. That's the goal. I would love to run this Taladaica. I love Talada. It's so wide. I mean.

Yeah. Let me tell you something. They'll be judging you about how. I'd like to know this. So there is a chance that you will be passed by the leaders. Correct. Right? At Rockingham.

You will be judged. by how well you get out of their way, that will be a thing that people will pay attention to. And so I would have conversations with RCR about what the etiquette is, what they would expect in certain situations. You know, and do your best, like, in those moments, again, it's like, damn, I don't want to give up a ton of lap time here.

But do, just do what you need to do to make it easy for those guys when they're trying to go by. in that moment. Just, just, just. And that's a stay bottom. To have conversations with RCR, I'm not going to tell you. That's a good point. That's for the team to tell you.

It's probably going to be their cars and your cars coming around me. They need to tell you and you need to hear it from them on like what the etiquette is and what they would expect. And I would, you know, that will be a moment where it could go really good or really bad, right? If you impede, even if you were just to impede somebody and cost them a, a position or something, right? I mean, that's going to, people are going to latch on to that, right? So, like, you know, I will give you some advice on,

I won't tell you what RCR's going to tell you to do, but like, if a guy's trying, if you, if it's very bottom dominant, which Rockingham typically is pretty bottom dominant, right? There's not a high groove. So the guys is they're driving around the track, lead guys, they're trying to get into the corner and get right into the bottom groove. And if one of them's coming by you on that, outside, don't drive into the corner with them and not allow them to get that bottom.

Like, just lift that car length earlier to let them clear in in front of you, right? If you go into the corner and make them work the corner outside the groove, they're a little annoyed by that. So just silly little nuances like that, don't worry about it today. But have a conversation with RCR and they'll give you the tools and information to be like, I mean, when leaders come, there's a couple things they like. this is a couple things that I probably would be paying attention to. And it's less,

the more you can make it a non-issue, the better, right? In that moment, be the non-story, right? I like that. As the lapper, as those guys are coming by and they're racing side by side and stuff, you want to be, you want nothing to do with it. Yeah, right. I just want to be a blur on the screen. That's right.

Okay. And that could happen in parts of the race, and that's fine. You know, I got. I left in all my first races. I went to Daytona. I went to Daytona and Talladega and wrecked out of the first five times I ran there before it actually started like clicking.

I wrecked at Daytona, Talladega, Daytona, Talladega, Daytona, Talladega, over and over and over before it finally started, like making sense. So, I mean, it's that kind of thing where, like, when you're running that race and you're sitting there going, I'm 25th or whatever, and I'm not fast, I'm here comes the leaders man, it's hurt, it's hurting my pride. Yeah.

You know, you just got to kind of stay the course. It's a humbling. It's going to be humbling. And just don't, don't worry too much about that. People are going, you're going to,

you're going to make yourself and a lot of people happy if you bring that car to pit road in one piece when the checker flag is over. That's all you got to worry about. I do feel really, really good about the, the pressure side of things.

It's like, I'm not going to feel bad if I'm 30th. Nobody's going to care. And RCR is on that same page. Tommy's Express. We told them this is going to be, you know, a total learning thing. That's right. They were on board with the fact that I'm getting this opportunity to learn. And they know, you know, winter circles.

No one is going to care where you finish. It ain't about a performance thing. Can he get out there? That's the goal. Understand the etiquette and the racing and get it home. Bring it home. So, yes, a couple days ago, me and Ila are horse playing, and Ila likes to try to, like, swing and gymnastics kick me in the butt.

Like, that's her thing. Yeah. And she says, I'm going to kick you in the ass. That's what she said. So I wasn't in the room, but I heard she said a cuss word, and nobody would repeat it. So I didn't know what she said. She said, oh, my God. Isla too.

We're doing something wrong, Dale. He's learning this for the first time. And I said, Ila, I go, Ila, do you know that's a bad word? She goes, yeah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I said, she goes, it just came out. It just came out. I said, where did you hear that? She goes from you.

And I was like, yep, valid. Oh, man. No wonder nobody would tell me what was said. And I told her, I don't think we were, but you didn't seem like you wanted to know. You were kind of like, I. Well, because you seemed like you had it handled and I didn't want to make it a bigger deal. but I asked her later what it was. She said, and she's like, nothing, don't worry about it.

I was like, Ila, that's one of them words you can't say again until you're older, so just going to put it away. So she's like, all right. But what are you going to do? Well, Nicole, same day, ask April, when they were getting ready for ballet, she goes, can I say what the hell? Yes. Yeah.

What was going on in the living room that day? I don't know. We're in trouble. Yeah. So when me and Amy decided we're going to have kids and we, you know, went through probably the first three or four years super strict with ourselves about our language. Yes. And I feel like in the past. It did.

I think in the past two years, I don't know about Amy, but I've gotten tired. Gotten loose about it. You know, and there'll be, like I'm in a conversation with somebody on the phone in the truck and they might say something accidentally not knowing I'm on the phone, you know, not knowing. His whole family's in the car. Or I'll say something accidentally. And I'll hang the phone up and I'll say, Isla, did you hear a bad word? And she might say, no.

I'm like, all right. Because there was a bad word in a song the other day that me and Amy were listened to. And I said, hey, Ila, did you hear a bad word? She goes, no. It's a Taylor Swift song. She likes to listen to on her own iPhone. She sings alone, but she doesn't know there's a bad word in there.

But sometimes I'll ask her, I'll say, and she'll say yes. Yes, I heard a bad word. I'm like, okay. You know, you ain't supposed to say, you know, we just have a little conversation. I don't know if it amounts to. She needs to know that it's bad, at least. And if she wants to get herself in trouble by using it,

then that's her choice. I feel like they innately know bad words or bad words. I always felt like I did too. Yeah. Like I would hear a bad word, a cuss word when I was a kid, and I didn't know immediately that that was a cuss word. And I was never say it. You know what I mean?

It was like, it was like. That sounds too sharp. That sounds like it's rough. Like what are you? Like the F word. that was like super taboo. You don't say that.

Right? When I was a kid kid. I remember my dad cussing too much. He said shit quite a bit or damn. We heard F all the time from dad and his friends. Really? Yes. Like Rusty Wallace says the F word every three words.

That's how you used to be. Yes. Dad used to say, what the buck. Really? Yes. Son of a buck. That's why he used to say, son of a buck. Well, but nobody says son of a .

I know it was for a son of a . . Oh. Oh. But he didn't say any of that stuff around. A son of a book, and he would say it was such a question. I don't say the B word because I feel like women don't like it. You're in a house of Bs. You better know.

It'd be bad for you. Yeah. But I wouldn't even say it not referencing a woman. It doesn't matter. All of us would go, excuse me? Like, damn, that's a B. I don't even say it like in general. Yeah.

Because it's, I feel like women would, women, when a woman hears it, do they go, what? What? Does it hit you wrong even when it's used out of context? Like something being. Like, damn, that was a bitch. Is it, if you and I are talking to each other, no. What's the equivalent, the male equivalent to the B word? To the B word?

No. Man, my granny's going to kill my ass. Why are you trying to bait me? You're tearing me up for trouble. You women don't use it. We do it when we're talking about you behind your back. Really? I'm like in the pantry, just going to, oh, she's just saying.

In the pantry. Wherever I'm hiding. Do you ever, most? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Of course I do. And of course you do. I mean, I ain't got a line through my teeth and say no.

Of course I do. It's better than doing it to your face. You and I would be like, oh, really? Yeah. And there would be like the clash of the Titans just one up at each other. That would be bad. Well, yeah. All right, let's set her first cuss word.

I was proud. A little tiny part of me was proud. Because it was you that she heard. I was. That's also the delivery of it. Like the way she delivered it, but you have to be proud of that. Well, they were fighting. I'm going to kick you in the ass.

Yeah. That's kind of cute. I wasn't mad. I don't know why from her because she's so sweet. It seems like, oh, that's cute. I mean, Nicole saying it feels like it's too intentional. There's certainly some words. I would be angry if she said them and how she said them.

But in the context in the moment, it was just funny. But I didn't let off too much. I didn't say, hey, I'm proud of you. I didn't say anything like that. That's good for you. I was like, that's a bad one. Tuck that one away. That's my parenting.

File that one away way deep back in there. All right, that was another episode of the Dirty30, presented by Arby's new Meat and Three Box. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We had the meats.