CHICO, Calif. (Aug. 21, 2025) — Just like one year ago, Corey Day rose to the occasion on preliminary night of the 71st Mike Curb Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. The 19-year-old from Clovis, California, outdueled Brad Sweet in traffic to claim the opening-night High Limit Racing feature and establish himself as the man to beat heading into the weekend.
The 30-lap Kubota A-Feature opened with an early yellow after contact between Blaine Cory and Joel Myers Jr.sidelined Cory’s No. 5K. On the restart, Max Mittry roared to the point, but Brad Sweet wasted no time charging from fourth to the lead on the opening lap. From there, the Chico crowd was treated to a heavyweight bout — Sweet hugging the bottom, Day attacking from the top, and Mittry looking poised for a breakout run.
Day quickly advanced from his eighth starting spot, reaching second by lap 10. As the leaders diced through slower traffic, the race mirrored 2024’s prelim duel between Day and Sweet. This time, Day found the advantage with 12 laps remaining, sweeping around the outside of Sweet down the front stretch to take control.
Despite a final push from Sweet in traffic, Day never faltered. He pulled away over the closing circuits to secure the win, with Sweet second and Pennsylvania’s Brent Marks third. Early leader Dylan Bloomfield finished fourth, while Mittry recovered from a late mistake to round out the top five.
Elsewhere on the night, Justin Peck stormed from the fourth starting spot to win the Winters Performance B Feature, transferring into the main event alongside Colby Copeland, Robbie Price, and Andy Forsberg. Heat race action saw victories from Blaine Cory, Braden Chiaramonte, Tanner Holmes, and Joel Myers Jr., each of whom locked in valuable track time before the feature.
Qualifying also set an early tone for the evening as Corey Day laid down the quickest lap at 11.424 seconds, edging Cory Eliason and Brent Marks. Rising talent Landon Brooks turned heads with the fourth-best time, while local favorite Joey Ancona slotted in sixth. The deep qualifying field showcased just how competitive the week ahead promises to be at Silver Dollar Speedway.
The Gold Cup Race of Champions continues Friday night with the second split preliminary program, where another stacked field will battle for valuable points toward Saturday’s finale.
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