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Corey Heim winning the 2026 Brickyard 400 wasn’t just a win. It was a moment. Not just for Corey Heim. Not just for 23XI Racing.
For NASCAR!
Maybe it’s Heim Hype. Maybe it’s Heim Hyperbole. But I think it’s being realistic when I say that this was a moment where the future of NASCAR announced itself.
Let’s discount his 42 Top 10s in 44 ARCA Menard Series starts, including nine wins. Let’s discount Heim finishing in the Top 10 in all six of his ARCA Series East starts and two of his three starts in the ARCA Series West. After all, it’s ARCA right? If you can stay on the lead lap, you’re guaranteed to be in the Top 5.
Let’s pretend you want to discount his 26 wins in the Truck Series. Let’s forget the fact that he’ll probably pick up at least three more before his career is over and be ranked THIRD on the All-Time Wins list in the series. Let’s forget that right now, only Jack Sprague, Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday, and Kyle Busch have more wins in the Truck Series. When you’re already among those names before turning 25, that’s remarkable.
So let’s toss all of this kid’s otherwise impressive resume in the trash and let’s focus on what has happened in the last three starts.
Two wins and three Top 10s overall, including on a road/street course brand new to the series and a crown jewel win on a track he’d never raced on before. (I still prefer the days when the crown jewels were the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, the Southern 500 and the Winston 500 at Talladega but that’s another argument for another day.)
If these are Denny Hamlin’s stats, if these are Christopher Bell’s stats, if these are Chase Elliott’s stats, everyone is talking about the amazing run that they’re on. It wouldn’t be quite the run that Mr. September Harry Gant went on in 1991, but anyone in 2026 would take those stats over a three-race period. They might wish that their previous five starts netted more than one Top 15 finish (15th at Kansas), mind you, but with an average finish of 16th, that is not too shabby, especially for a driver still looking to complete his first full season in the Cup Series.
If you’ve been following along, you know that I am always complaining about NASCAR not doing enough to develop the future of NASCAR. I’m a huge proponent of having young drivers compete against drivers of similar experience and skill set (and especially equipment) in the lower series. While I will certainly argue that there needs to be more stories like this, Corey Heim is an example of having someone come out of the Truck Series with immense success and turn it into success in the Cup Series.
The term “generational talent” gets thrown around a lot but I believe that what you’re seeing in Corey Heim is just that: a talented driver that comes along once in a long while. When he got his first win at the Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado, it felt like a good story. This kid manages to accelerate the learning curve, tame the street course, and get a win.
But the win at the Brickyard 400 felt different. This is a track that legends across the full spectrum of motorsports have won, from Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, and Hélio Castroneves to Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson (and yes, I know I’m missing a ton of names but if I named everyone from Will Power to Paul Menard – racing for RCR!!!! – well, we’d here all day). If Heim’s second win had come at Dover, it would have been a big deal, but the win at Indy just elevates his accomplishment.
You can say that Heim was in good equipment but he outran his boss, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell, neither of whom are exactly hurting in the equipment department. Heim was on equal footing and got that win. Not on fuel mileage. Not because a wreck took out the top drivers. He won because on July 26, 2026, he and his team did what they needed to do to get the win.
It’s possible that in five years we might look back and see that the Brickyard 400 was the sole shining moment and the high-water mark of Corey Heim’s career. I am far more convinced that we’ll be talking about how the win sparked the rising trajectory that led him to become a championship contender in the years ahead.
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