INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (Indianapolis) \u2014 Corey Heim has driven eight races this year and has scored more points than the other heralded young NASCAR Cup Series prospect.<\/p>\n Heim has more points than full-time rookie Connor Zilisch has earned in 22 races, thanks to his two victories and Zilisch’s string of races where he hasn’t finished.<\/p>\n That\u2019s right, two victories \u2014 at Naval Base Coronado last month and then Sunday at the Brickyard 400<\/a> \u2014 in eight starts. That\u2019s eight starts with a part-time fourth car at 23XI Racing, so that\u2019s part of the equation. He has some of the best equipment in the NASCAR Cup Series garage.<\/p>\n Corey Heim is making his case as the best young driver in NASCAR. <\/p>\n “The competition in this series is kind of like no other, but the fact that we’ve had everything line up really well as far as the speed in these Toyotas this year with 23XI specifically, has been just surreal,” Heim said in his postrace news conference.<\/p>\n But it takes more than equipment to be the first driver since A.J. Foyt to win two Cup races in his first 15 overall series starts. And he\u2019s the first part-time series driver to win two races in a season since both Davey Allison and Tim Richmond accomplished the feat in 1987.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old Heim has won 21 of the last 40 truck races he has entered and won the 2025 series title. He is set to be a full-time Cup driver in 2027 with 23XI.<\/p>\n “He’s really talented.” three-time Cup champion Joey Logano told me after the race where Logano finished third. “Turns out, I know his trucks are good, but I think the driver was spectacular.\u00a0<\/p>\n “He\u2019s got it. We’re going to be battling him forever. He’ll be here longer than me. He’s a lot younger than me, but he’ll be here the whole time. Just a solid racecar driver. He does the right things. He doesn’t get risky. He doesn’t get nervous. Just executes really well.”<\/p>\n Logano gave Heim the push he needed on a late restart to win the Brickyard 400 and Heim took it from there.<\/p>\n Joey Logano commended Corey Heim for his skills behind the wheel. <\/p>\n “He put together a magnificent last run,”\u00a0Christopher Bell told me after finishing second to Heim. “He was loose. My guys were saying he was loose. I could kind of see him wiggling a little bit. He did a great job, and he didn\u2019t make a mistake and won the race.”<\/p>\n Heim\u2019s accomplishments are no surprise to those who worked with him. Because he is in a part-time car, Heim is also often the first to go out and qualify. That typically means, at best, a mediocre starting position.<\/p>\n “If we would have had a better [spot when going out] in qualifying, we would have won more already,” Heim crew chief Bootie Barker said in his postrace news conference.<\/p>\n Barker wasn\u2019t trying to be boastful. He says it as fact, just like he did when he first explained how Heim has won two races as a part-time driver.<\/p>\n “Everybody thinks I’m always joking, but I mean what I say: He’s more talented than anybody else,” Barker said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Barker then couched that comment: “That’s almost being a disservice to some of the great drivers here. That’s not the case. Like all the people we were racing at the end are the best of the best, tremendous [and I] show much respect to them.<\/p>\n “But Corey is there in talent. Corey is also there in work ethic. He’s there as far as a mentality. He has all that.”<\/p>\n The contention between Carson Hocevar (pictured) and Corey Heim continued on Sunday at the Brickyard. <\/p>\n But the bottom line is that the kid has enough talent that he already has a simmering rivalry with Carson Hocevar that has followed them from their time together competing in trucks. They don\u2019t like each other and at one point, Hocevar flipped off Heim for the way he blocked Heim.<\/p>\n Heim didn\u2019t care. He won. And Hocevar, who has one Cup victory in nearly three seasons at the Cup level, certainly recognizes Heim\u2019s talent.<\/p>\n “He’s really good with air and manipulating air,” Hocevar told me after the race. “We have a lot of similarities from that standpoint, and I think that’s why you know in trucks and then here, we’re up front and … it’s almost like we know each move because that’s what I would be doing or that’s what he would be doing.<\/p>\n “Their stuff’s really fast. [I was the] top Chevy for us. That’s good.”<\/p>\n That could sound like a little bit of sour grapes. Probably is, but it\u2019s also a little bit of fact.<\/p>\n “Toyota [is the reason for it],” 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski told me about Heim’s accomplishments after the race. “He\u2019s doing a good job.<\/p>\n “You can\u2019t take anything away from Corey. He\u2019s executing these races well. He\u2019s not beating himself. His pit crew is doing everything right. And he\u2019s in the fastest cars. It\u2019s really impressive.”<\/p>\n Heim can\u2019t really describe how he has won two races with a part-time team other than to surmise that he can focus more on each individual race since he runs on a limited basis. He also drives for Toyota when the manufacturers have data-gathering tests, giving him plenty of track time when he isn\u2019t in a Cup car or the occasional truck.<\/p>\n The two wins probably change what people would expect of him next year as a full-time driver. He is going to be a serious threat to make The Chase.<\/p>\n “I definitely felt like this year started off rockier than I would have liked,” Heim said. “I went to Daytona and crashed. At Kansas, we finished worse than we did the previous year. It\u2019s been a steady incline up to this point. Winning San Diego, top-10 in Chicago, winning here [at the Brickyard], it’s been a heck of a last couple races.<\/p>\n “If you asked me four months ago what my expectations were for 2027, I would have answered differently than now for sure.”<\/p>\n So what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n “Clearly, he’s with a great team,” Bell said. “And he\u2019s a great driver. He’s a Cup guy. He’s going to do really well next year.”<\/p>\n In The News<\/p>\n \u2014 Jimmie Johnson will get to use the No. 48 for his final Cup race, the 2027 Daytona 500. Johnson worked a deal with Hendrick Motorsports for use of the number he had for his seven Cup titles. The number is currently used for the car of Alex Bowman, whose number for the Daytona 500 has not been announced.<\/p>\n \u2014 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has purchased a charter from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the INDYCAR Series. The team has not named a driver and noted that whether it is Chevy or Honda next year is still to be determined. The organization has run Chevys recently in its Indianapolis 500 attempts.<\/p>\n \u2014 St. Petersburg Grand Prix weekend will include both INDYCAR and the Craftsman Truck Series next season as this year\u2019s doubleheader was deemed a success. It is expected to be the INDYCAR opener. The dates are set for March 5-7, 2027.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"4](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/artboard-1-2.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n