Corey Heim is having a sensational season within the Craftsman Truck Sequence with Tricon Storage this yr. He made his fourth Cup Sequence begin of the season with 23XI Racing on the Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday. In a race stuffed with tough tire administration strategies, Heim and his crew completed in sixth place after ranging from thirty eighth. He defined the expertise in his post-race interview.
On the onset of the race, Heim had struggled because the rubber on the right-side tires fell off a lot heavier than was initially anticipated. He mentioned, “We had the danger of going a lap down. Made our Stage 1 fairly depressing as a result of I simply went on attempting to get monitor place.”
As soon as he realized the necessity to save his tires, he gained management of the state of affairs and set to work.
He identified that he simply did what he does finest, and the conditions with the cautions fell in his lap to safe him a optimistic consequence. He acknowledged that, primarily based on the observe classes, neither he nor every other driver anticipated such heavy tire fall-off. However the decrease temperatures at night time contributed to the rubber’s degradation and took everybody without warning.
Curiously, Heim now has extra top-15 finishes than Riley Herbst in 2025. Herbst is a full-time driver for 23XI Racing and has largely underperformed all through this season. In gentle of the identical, Heim is being pegged as a worthy alternative for Herbst within the 2026 season. However earlier than any such promotion occurs, the teen will need to safe the Truck Sequence championship.
23XI Racing may use Heim in its storage
One in all Heim’s earlier begins within the Cup Sequence this yr got here on the Kansas Speedway. Driving the No. 67 Toyota Camry XSE, he defeated all three of 23XI Racing’s drivers and completed in thirteenth place. Tyler Reddick had completed in seventeenth place, and Bubba Wallace had completed within the thirty third spot.
This efficiency from him was thought of to be a fortunate shot in lots of circles. It was an unfathomable thought {that a} Truck Sequence common might be a greater driver at a monitor like Kansas than two of its earlier winners. However his newest exhibiting at Bristol has confirmed that it was by no fluke that he outperformed the 23XI Racing stars.
On Saturday, he as soon as once more completed forward of all three drivers. A full-time Cup Sequence promotion might be a large replace for him. However becoming a member of him in its ranks might be a good larger replace for Denny Hamlin’s race group.