Corey Heim has found his own way to respond to Carson Hocevar after their latest exchange at the Brickyard 400. On Monday’s episode of Door, Bumper, Clear, the 23XI Racing driver revealed that he was wearing his Brickyard 400 winner’s ring on his middle finger as a reference to Hocevar’s gesture toward him during Sunday’s race.
“In honor of Carson, I’ve got my ring on my middle finger,” Heim said.
Heim explained that he had considered taking a picture of himself making the same gesture while wearing the winner’s ring and sending it to Hocevar on social media. However, later, he decided against posting it, believing his media team would not approve, and instead shared the story on the podcast.
The joke came a day after Hocevar raised his middle finger toward Heim during the Brickyard 400.
Heim had kept Hocevar a lap down for several laps late in Stage 2, and when Hocevar headed toward pit road, he drove close to Heim and made the gesture before continuing around the track.
Hocevar later addressed the incident with sarcasm, saying he was simply showing support for the race winner.
“I’m just a fan,” Hocevar said. “Wanted to wave at him. He’s number one. He won.”
Heim also responded to the incident during his post-race appearance on TNT Sports, where he said, “I handed him a big fat ‘L’ after that.”
The rivalry between the two drivers has been on since their Craftsman Truck Series days together. Back in 2023, Hocevar had spun Heim during the championship battle at Phoenix Raceway, affecting Heim’s title hopes.
Their Cup Series rivalry continued in 2026 when Heim turned Hocevar at Naval Base Coronado before going on to earn his first Cup Series win.
At Indianapolis, Heim again came out ahead and won the Brickyard 400, while Hocevar finished ninth. When reporters continued asking Heim about his rival after the race, he responded, “You guys sure love to talk about a guy who finished ninth.”
Hocevar also acknowledged Heim’s performance and the speed of his Toyota, while stating that he wants to challenge him more closely as his own team improves.
“His stuff is super fast, obviously,” Hocevar said. “With the car he’s in, he does a really, really good job with it.”
“I’m looking forward to when we get our stuff a little better, being in front of him and maybe holding him up,” Hocevar added.
For now, Heim has already bagged two wins in his part-time Cup season with merely 15 starts to his name, and has eventually moved ahead in terms of the number of wins in the top tier of NASCAR.
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