One of NASCAR Silly Season’s most controversial questions is whether Riley Herbst or Corey Heim is the best fit at 23XI Racing for 2025. Many look at Corey Heim’s success relative to Herbst and believe it’s time for him to jump up to the NASCAR Cup Series. Well, Eric Estepp suggests, somewhat controversially, that Riley Herbst might be more Cup-ready than Heim. Is this true?
Corey Heim has been ridiculously good in the Truck Series over the past few seasons. In his last 53 starts, he has 41 top-10 finishes and 28 top-fives with 10 wins. His top-five rate is an astounding 52.8%, meaning he is more likely to finish in the top five than not. He’s been even better this year with five wins, 10 top-fives, and 12 top-10s in 15 races.
However, as Eric points out, when things don’t go Heim’s way, and he faces some adversity, he can escalate things a bit too far. Look at the season finale at Phoenix in 2023, where Heim intentionally wrecked Carson Hocevar with two laps to go. Yes, Hocevar did wreck Heim to end the No. 11 driver’s Championship hopes, but to make that drastic move, which affected the final result of the race and the Championship, was not a good look. The frustration was warranted, but the execution was a bridge too far.
Fast-forward to 2024, when Corey Heim got together with Championship rival Christian Eckes at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Contact between the two eventually cut Heim’s tire, causing Heim to hunt down and swerve at Eckes under caution before confronting Eckes on pit road.
Heim handled this incident much more subduedly than the Phoenix incident, but it still showcases that he is young and fiery. Sometimes, that can translate to overaggressive moves on the track and frustrating other competitors; ask Ross Chastain how this can affect things.
However, Heim has also shown maturity at times this season. In his three Cup Series starts, Heim has generally stayed on the good side of competitors. He only failed to finish at Nashville due to multiple overtimes late in the race, when the entire race devolved into chaos.
In the Xfinity Series, Heim has not asked too much out of his Sam Hunt Racing equipment. He’s even squeezed out top-five finishes at Richmond and Iowa, the best finishes the organization has recorded all year.
Heim is not out of control as a driver by any means, but he has moments where he gets carried away. When he’s at his best and stays within himself, he can be one of the best drivers on any grid he’s on. However, has he shown enough maturity to overtake Riley Herbst?
Riley Herbst is an interesting case. He has spent his entire Xfinity Series career in top equipment, but he just won his first race last year in his 107th start. As a result, many felt Herbst was no more than a “Pay driver,” someone who is in their position not through merit or talent but rather because they bring money.
However, Herbst has shown some promise, especially in recent races. He recorded five straight top-five finishes at the end of 2023, and he’s in the midst of his best season yet in 2024. He sits fifth in points, which would blow away his previous career high of 10th, and he beat defending Series Champion Cole Custer and NASCAR veteran Aric Almirola in a clean battle for the win at Indianapolis.
The win caught the eye of everyone watching, including current 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin. Could this be a precursor to the two forming a working relationship?
Herbst is showing genuine improvement, and that race at Indianapolis shows some incredible precision behind the wheel. With multiple years of full-time Xfinity Series experience, is it reasonable to think he could jump into the Cup Series and be at least serviceable out of the gate? It absolutely is, especially if 23XI thinks Heim needs another year.
However, Heim still has an objectively more impressive resume than Herbst. Some view Heim as a future Cup Series Champion-level talent, and maybe 23XI Racing also thinks that. There could be an argument that Heim could benefit from more time in the Cup Series at an earlier age to learn.
Who is more Cup Series-ready of the two? Eric Estepp believes an argument could be made for Herbst, but Heim’s higher ceiling could tip the scales.
What do you think about all this? Let us know on Discord or X what your take is, and don’t forget you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and even YouTube.
On February 17, Ubisoft released a trailer that confirmed that NASCAR would be included in The Crew Motorfest’s next season update. Details were limited at the time, but in a press release issued today, Ubisoft revealed the full details of the update ahead of its March 4 launch.
Ubisoft says drafting will affect car speed and help save fuel, implying that drafting will be a huge factor in the game, at least with these cars. You can check out this and much more on Ubisoft’s official post linked below
Earlier this Tuesday, the official The Crew Motorfest account clarified confusion around the NASCAR bundles. The Crew Credit (CC) bundles only include cosmetic team liveries, not additional cars. The 3 base Next Gen cars (Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Toyota Camry XSE, and Chevrolet ZL1) are part of the free Season 9 update and can be purchased separately.
Mitch Rasmussen, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Interactive, said in the press release:
We’re excited to bring our iconic brand to life in The Crew Motorfest. This collaboration represents another important step in our strategy to bring NASCAR into the digital spaces and places where next generation fans spend their time, giving players new ways to interact with the culture and communities they love.
The content arrives as part of Year 3 Season 9 and is officially licensed by NASCAR. You can watch the first trailer and learn more in the article linked below
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Four road courses on the schedule, and somehow that’s enough to spark one of the biggest debates in the garage. After recent comments from Brad Keselowski questioning the business value of road racing, the conversation has picked up serious steam. Is NASCAR leaning too far into it, or is the current balance about right?
There are valid points on both sides, from sponsorship realities to fan traditions to competitive diversity. Some tracks have gained traction. Others have struggled. The question isn’t just whether road courses belong, but how many make sense within a 36-race season. It’s less about extremes and more about direction. And with future schedule changes always looming, this debate probably isn’t settled anytime soon.
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Corey Day’s run-in with Connor Zilisch at Circuit of the Americas became one of the most discussed incidents from Saturday’s race, even drawing a response from Denny Hamlin as well, who this week talked about his support for Zilisch.
During the race, Zilisch dealt with brake trouble on his No. 1 Chevrolet but worked his way forward from the rear of the field, advancing from P29 to P4 in the closing laps. With five laps remaining, he engaged in a battle with Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day as they exited Turn 2, holding the outside line. But as they contested the position, Day moved up behind him, contact occurred, and Zilisch spun off course to finish the race in P21.
After the contact, frustrated, Connor Zilisch initially referred to Day as an “absolute hack” on his radio, describing the clash as part of the latter’s racing pattern. But the JR Motorsports driver later tempered his comments, simply saying he expects an apology from the young Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Given that Zilisch declined to escalate the situation, on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin credited him for calmly managing his response after the race, saying,
“Zillich was smart about this. He in his interview, he’s like, “I looked over at him thinking, come on over here. Come apologize.” And he said he just looked at him with a stare like, I don’t know what it is with these guys. Why, Why can’t they… youth?”
However, he questioned Day’s failure to issue an immediate apology. In fact, he said he was “floored” by Corey Day’s reaction, which involved staring at a frustrated Zilisch rather than apologizing.
The No. 11 JGR driver also raised questions about how Hendrick Motorsports evaluates developing drivers. Organizations invest with the expectation of returns measured in wins and titles, but when a driver continues to make visible mistakes, fans and especially other drivers will start to scrutinize. Hamlin pointed to the balance between development and production, asking how long it would hold.
The COTA incident was not the first time Day’s racing antics were questioned. Last week, during the Atlanta race, Day was involved in a multi-car crash on lap five after attempting a three-wide move that resulted in contact with Ryan Sieg. The move triggered a chain reaction that collected several cars.
Sieg responded over team radio, questioning both the decision and Day’s presence in the series.
Hamlin argued that drivers are allowed to make mistakes as part of growth. At teams with front-running equipment and title ambitions, time frames are shorter. But he questioned whether Day faces a deadline by season’s end or whether the assessment extends into the following year.
In Day’s case, results have not offset the incidents that have drawn attention. Hamlin referenced Kyle Larson as an example, noting that aggressive driving can lead to contact as well as wins.
Do you agree with Hamlin’s take? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
