Looking at Corey Heim's Rise to First NASCAR Cup Series Win

Corey Heim's first career NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday encapsulated a long journey to the pinnacle of the sport.

Heim's name may be a relatively new one to NASCAR fans, with his win on Sunday in the Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado coming in just his 13th NASCAR Cup Series start. However, he has been on racing radars for the better part of the past 10 years.

The journey started in his home state of Georgia, winning the 2016 Young Lions division championship and 2017 Pro division championship at Atlanta Motor Speedway (now EchoPark Speedway)'s Thursday Thunder INEX Legends program. From there, Heim graduated to Late Model competition, where he made an immediate impact.

In 2018, Heim nearly won the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway, the crown jewel of Late Model Stock Car racing. After starting 30th, Heim finished second to C.E. Falk IV in a controversial ending. A little more than a month later, he earned his first CARS Tour Super Late Model victory at South Boston Speedway.

Heim made his ARCA Menards Series debut in 2019, competing in 13 races with the series that year. He earned eight top-five finishes in those 13 starts, including third-place finishes on the dirt at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds and at Salem Speedway.

Heim won in a memorable finish to CRA SpeedFest at Cordele Motor Speedway in 2020. The race came down to a side-by-side battle between Heim and fellow Georgia native Kyle Plott, with Heim scoring the victory.

That year also saw Heim's first career wins with the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car division at Hickory Motor Speedway and the ARCA Menards Series at Kansas Speedway.

From there, Heim's meteoric rise truly began to take shape. In 2021, he won six ARCA Menards Series races and finished second in the championship standings. Those wins showed his versatility as a driver, scoring victories on bullrings such as Elko Speedway, the superspeedways of Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, and even at the road course of Watkins Glen International.

Heim further refined and displayed his road-racing skill set in 2022, competing in a pair of CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series events. He finished fourth in his CUBE 3 TA2 Series debut at Sonoma Raceway in a race won by Rafa Matos.

The 2022 season also saw Heim score his first two wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. After making three starts with the series in 2021, Heim went to victory lane at EchoPark Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway. Since then, Heim has racked up 25 wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, including a record-breaking 12 victories during the 2025 season en route to a championship.

In 2025, Heim signed a development contract with 23XI Racing. He is competing part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series with the team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. That opportunity led to Heim piloting the No. 67 Toyota to victory on Sunday, passing his teammate Tyler Reddick in the closing laps.

-Photo credit: James Gilbert/Getty Images