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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Corey Heim, driver of the #67 Field & Stream Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Logan Riely\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> driver Corey Heim<\/a> questions a rule that could deny him Rookie of the Year honors despite his strong Cup results. Again<\/p>\n Corey Heim has questioned the value of the NASCAR Rookie of the Year<\/a> award after NASCAR\u2019s eligibility rules ended his chance to compete for the honor when he becomes a full-time Cup Series driver.<\/p>\n Heim, who is set to join 23XI Racing full-time in 2027, has already made 15 NASCAR Cup Series starts across the 2025 and 2026 seasons. He has also won twice in 2026 while running a part-time schedule.<\/p>\n NASCAR\u2019s current Rookie of the Year rules allow drivers to have no more than 12 previous Cup starts before their rookie season. Drivers must also apply for the award. Because Heim passed the limit and did not apply this year, he cannot compete for the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award now or in 2027.<\/p>\n Corey Heim Questions NASCAR Rookie of the Year Value<\/p>\n After the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series<\/a> race at Richmond Raceway, Corey Heim spoke<\/a> about the rule and its effect on the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, yeah, my only problem with it really is, you\u2019re sort of losing value to that award. I think if you want that award to mean something, if you\u2019re giving somebody a trophy and you say, here you go, you\u2019re the best rookie, are you really? Or are you not? That\u2019s my thing: if you\u2019re gonna give someone a trophy and take a picture, make it worth something, and it\u2019s losing its value. But that\u2019s just my opinion, and it\u2019s not the end of the world; we\u2019ll keep moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Heim said he will continue moving forward despite missing the chance to compete for the NASCAR Rookie of the Year honor.<\/p>\n NASCAR Rookie of the Year Rules Explained<\/p>\n NASCAR vice president of racing communications Mike Forde<\/a> confirmed the rules that now control Rookie of the Year eligibility across its national series.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rookie designation has changed over the years. And also, not all rookies are created equal, in that to be a rookie, you actually have to apply to be a rookie of the year candidate. So you can go through the entire season and be a first-year driver, and not technically be a rookie of the year candidate, if you didn\u2019t apply to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n Forde said NASCAR recently changed the NASCAR Rookie of the Year criteria. Cup Series drivers can have no more than 12 starts before the rookie season they want to enter. The O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series has a 10-start limit, while the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series has an eight-start limit.<\/p>\n Those rules prevent Corey Heim from entering the NASCAR Rookie of the Year race in 2027.<\/p>\n Corey Heim Balances NASCAR Cup Series and Trucks<\/p>\n Corey Heim has continued to build experience while splitting his time between the NASCAR Cup Series and the Truck Series. He said the schedule has both benefits and drawbacks, especially because he does not race in the Cup Series every week.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I think there\u2019s goods involving that and also bads. Of course, the bad being you\u2019re not in the seat every week, and you can\u2019t get those constant reps like those other guys and kind of be really sharp as soon as you unload and go to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n Heim also said the part-time schedule gives him more time to prepare and review races. He believes that can help drivers who face the major step from the Truck Series or O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series to the NASCAR Cup Series.<\/p>\n Corey Heim\u2019s two Cup wins in 2026 have strengthened his record despite his limited schedule. He will now focus on his 2027 move to 23XI Racing, while the NASCAR Rookie of the Year debate continues around the rules that have already ruled him out.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a writer covering NASCAR, Formula 1, and the IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. He has also written for Sportsnaut, FanSided, Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. Wilberforce focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, breaking down news, driver stories, and key moments with a clear, fast, and engaging style. His work connects headlines to context, helping readers understand what matters most in the sport. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Corey Heim, driver of the #67 Field & Stream Toyota, celebrates with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-861476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861476","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=861476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}