Time and (Heim) time again, Corey Heim is making it increasingly difficult to describe his rise as anything short of extraordinary. While the Toyota phenom has yet to tackle a full-time NASCAR Cup Series season, he’s already collecting milestones that some of the sport’s biggest names needed far more time to reach.
Recently, the 24-year-old added another chapter to his remarkable rise on Sunday by winning the iconic Brickyard 400 in his first-ever start at IMS. Driving the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing, Heim outdueled Christopher Bell and Joey Logano over the final 34 laps, keeping both veterans behind him despite battling an increasingly loose race car.
He controlled the race when it mattered most, leading a race-high 58 of the 160 laps while navigating changing pit strategies, multiple restarts, and relentless pressure from Bell in the closing stages.
Heim now has two Cup victories in just 15 career starts, a feat that puts him in a category of his own. Since NASCAR’s Modern Era began in 1972, no driver has reached two Cup Series victories faster than Heim.
Not Tony Stewart, or Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, or even Kyle Busch.
To put things into perspective, while the reigning Truck Series champion needed those 15 starts to earn his first two Cup Series victories, other NASCAR legends failed to even compare. “Superman” Johnson and Kevin “Happy” Harvick each reached the milestone in 17 starts, “Smoke” did it in 28, while “Rowdy” took 41 starts.
Those names represent Hall of Famers, champions, and some of the greatest drivers of the modern generation. Heim has reached the same milestone before all of them.
The achievement also marks the first time a driver has recorded his first two Cup victories within 15 starts since A.J. Foyt accomplished the feat during the 1964-65 season.
Remarkably, Heim has done all this while making only part-time appearances for 23XI. In his last three Cup starts, he has finished first, ninth, and first. His remaining five races this season will come before he takes over a full-time ride with the organization in 2027.
While Heim’s talent continues to make headlines, another storyline appears ready to follow him into the next phase of his Cup career. His rivalry with Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar has simmered ever since their 2023 Truck Series championship battle, and Sunday’s Brickyard 400 only added another chapter.
During green-flag pit stops in Stage 2, the “Hurricane” found himself trapped behind Heim while trying to unlap himself before Heim headed to pit road. The frustration boiled over, with Hocevar visibly gesturing toward Heim as they raced around Indianapolis.
This is far from the first bloweover the two have had, especially this season, after Heim and Hocevar tangled at San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado.
When Jeff Gluck of The Athletic recently asked whether the rivalry is becoming one NASCAR fans should expect to see for years, Heim made it clear that old wounds still haven’t healed.
“For me, like I haven’t really raced a whole lot in the last three years but at the end of day, he wiped me out for a championship,” Heim said. “So, I’m always going to hold that grudge against him.”
Heim was referring to their controversial 2023 Truck Series title bout, an incident that fundamentally changed how he races Hocevar, “I obviously didn’t take that well, and I wrecked him back that day.”
Although Sunday’s race featured another chapter between the two, Heim insisted he wasn’t actively trying to retaliate – “I didn’t have any intent to turn around backwards on Sunday but when he was sitting there and looking at me, spinning out, I wasn’t mad about it either.”
Despite the lingering resentment, Heim stopped short of making the rivalry personal. He added, “I just kind of lost a lot of respect for him in a race car that day. I don’t hate him as a person or anything. I’m not going to walk up to him in a grocery store and fight him or anything like that.
“But I’m never going to cut him any slack. I think it will be fun to watch.”
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