Corey Heim is a driving sensation in NASCAR, and there is no doubt about that. Look at his Truck Series season so far. Twenty races in, he has already reached his career-best stats, won eight times, finished 14 times in the top 5, and is at an average finish of 6.0.
After all, he’s been running Trucks for four full seasons now and has won 19 races, so it’s clear he has mastered the tier three NASCAR Series. But what’s been surprising is that despite such impressive stats, the 23-year-old has not been promoted to either the Xfinity Series or the Cup Series. However, a recent stat for Heim in the top NASCAR series could be a head-turner for his potential future teams.
What Has Made Corey Heim the Best Performer at 23XI Racing This Season?
In 2025, Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing signed the Georgia native as their developmental driver. Hamlin had long followed his success in the lower series. Thanks to this, Heim even made a couple of Cup starts, and to say the least, he’s been impressive. Piloting the next-gen car is a whole different beast, but in just a few races, the youngster seems to have figured it out.
Heim made his Cup debut last year at Dover for Legacy Motor Club and managed a decent 25th-place finish. That season, he ran three races, and the best he could do was a P22 finish at Kansas. Capitalising on this, 23XI Racing in 2025 started Heim’s Cup runs at Kansas itself, and he managed an even better finish this time: 13th.
In fact, in the Kansas race, Heim got a better finish compared to all three full-time 23XI drivers. Tyler Reddick finished 17th, Riley Herbst got a P27 finish, and Bubba Wallace was involved in an accident, suffering a DNF. And this is not the only time Heim has managed this feat. He did it again at the recent Bristol race.
What’s impressive is that Heim has only made four race starts so far in the Cup Series season and has finished better than his full-time teammates twice. At Bristol, Heim finished 6th. While playoff driver Reddick finished 15th, Herbst ended his race in 18th, and Wallace yet again got a DNF.
This shows that Heim’s got what it takes to run with the top guys in the sport, but hasn’t had as many opportunities. He probably won’t be running a full season in Cup next season. With the NASCAR lawsuit, 23XI’s own future is hanging in the balance. And even if they manage to win the trial and race in 2026, there is no open spot in the team with all three drivers under multi-season contracts.
But another season in the Truck Series would be a waste of time for Heim. However, there are rumors that Sam Hunt Racing could have him make select race starts in Xfinity and Cup, but still no full-time commitments. But who knows, this could change in the silly season. Let’s see where Heim ends up in 2026.