Joe Gibbs Racing is exactly where a talent like Corey Heim should be headed, whether in the Xfinity or Cup Series. Beyond doubt, he\u2019s Toyota\u2019s brightest young star, the only driver to deliver the manufacturer a championship this season. And if there\u2019s any team capable of elevating his career even higher, it\u2019s JGR, given their pedigree and expertise.<\/p>\n
Yet in a puzzling, and, to many fans, infuriating twist, the 23-year-old has been left without a full-time or even part-time seat in a JGR car, in either the Cup or Xfinity Series. The reason, insiders say, lies uncomfortably close to home: Ty Gibbs, the owner\u2019s grandson. And as Heim\u2019s breakout \u201cHeim Time\u201d 2025 campaign ends with a Truck Series title,\u00a0frustration across NASCAR<\/a> Nation is only growing louder.<\/p>\n Inside the Growing Fan Backlash Against JGR\u2019s Decisions<\/p>\n More than 1500 laps led (1625), seven poles, 21 top 10s, 19 top fives, and 12 wins\u00a0in the season, Heim wrapped up an incredible season at Phoenix Raceway that fans can truly accept in its entirety amidst the growing frustration against the playoff format.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old\u2019s\u00a0curb stomping performance came in full circle in the late restart of the race when he went seven wide on the inside, in a moment that will be talked about for years to come.<\/p>\n With that title-clinching performance, Heim shattered Greg Biffle\u2019s record<\/a> for the winningest season in Truck Series history. No track nor driver could stop him. The Marietta native led at least one lap in every single race, a first in Truck Series history and proof of pure dominance.<\/p>\n Yet, despite the career-defining dominant performance, Heim is left without a deserving seat at JGR. A recent social media post from Bob Pockrass lit the fuse as the veteran stated<\/a> the obvious. \u201cIf JGR wanted Heim, they would have had him in the car this year. The ARCA battles between him and Ty apparently don\u2019t make that a good fit.\u201d<\/p>\n Soon, fans bombarded the post by expressing their angst with livid comments<\/a> \u2013 \u201cStill insane how JGR really go pass up on a talent like corey heim all because of something that happened in ARCA years ago. Like I said in my video talking about that\u2026..its so petty.\u201d<\/p>\n Some fans nailed the hammer straight on Ty Gibbs, noting<\/a>, \u201cTy Gibbs will be the death of Joe Gibbs Racing.\u201d A third user kept it going, bashing the No. 54 driver<\/a>\u00a0as the second-worst in the team\u2019s history \u2013 \u201cAll to keep the 2nd worst driver in JGR history happy\u2026 aka Ty Gibbs.\u201d Yet, the topic of what\u2019s limiting Heim further has always revolved around the young Gibbs, with many industry experts suggesting that the latter has been blackballing his ARCA rival ever since their 2021 ARCA rivalry.<\/p>\n A few fans also mentioned this stint, subtly poking<\/a> a jab at Gibbs \u2013 \u201cpass up a generational talent for a few bump and runs at the lowest national touring level four years ago, others, however, put Heim on a pedestal, hailing him<\/a> as the superior driver to the No. 54\u00a0ace. \u2013 \u201ccrazy since Heim is 10x the driver Ty Gibbs is.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, \u201cCoach\u201d and his crew seem content to let one of Toyota\u2019s brightest stars sit in limbo, all because of a feud that should have long been left in the ARCA archives. However, as Heim\u2019s stock continues to rise, JGR\u2019s silence will only grow louder, and sooner or later, they\u2019ll have to decide whether pride is truly worth losing a generational talent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Gibbs Racing is exactly where a talent like Corey Heim should be headed, whether in the Xfinity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-270522","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nascar","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Meanwhile, others took things up a notch, speaking their minds, openly and unapologetically<\/a>: \u201cWhat makes it not a good fit is Ty Gibbs being a little b***h that\u2019s never been put in his place.\u201d
As many suggest, going Xfinity racing might not be his best choice; Cup is where he should be headed. But, going that way without the backing of JGR is almost certain suicide. 23XI Racing, embroiled in a legal dispute with NASCAR, faces a bleak future, and signing with Legacy Motor Club could\u00a0be detrimental to its career, given the team\u2019s lack of speed.<\/p>\n