CORONADO, Calif. — Maybe some of the U.S. Navy’s finest knew all along, like a group of fortune-tellers in dress whites.
Corey Heim was regarded as a bit of an underdog in Sunday’s San Diego showdown — a talented one, but still a relative rookie gaining experience in a partial NASCAR Cup Series schedule before a full-time slate awaits next year. Veteran Denny Hamlin employs him, but even as a big believer, he was struck by what unfolded.
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Perhaps the service members who walked on stage with Heim during driver introductions had some level of foresight, tapping their wrists where a watch might go, joining the racing prodigy in mimicking his trademark victory gesture. The race’s setting was their home turf, after all, and this was their moment, too.
“Yeah, they were looking for something fun to do,” Heim said. “We originally wanted to swap hats, and then they said we couldn’t do that, so we had to find something better, and I thought that was cool. They don’t really know much about me or NASCAR or anything, so I was kind of telling them what the deal was, and seemed like they were having a fun time.”
Nearly 3 1/2 hours later in the warmth of the San Diego sun, it was Heim’s time again to drive home his signature celebration in one of the season’s signature events, a moment to soak in his first Cup Series win in just his 13th major-league start. His path to victory came after a daring duel with 23XI Racing teammate and series points leader Tyler Reddick, taming the demanding 3.4-mile circuit in his No. 67 Toyota with a poise that belied his 23-year-old age.
The Anduril 250, the sport’s first-of-its-kind race on an active military base, was almost bound to have surprises in a weekend full of so many. It’s difficult to call Sunday’s performance an arrival for Heim, especially since he blistered the record books on the way to a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship last season and has been a key figure in Toyota’s developmental pipeline for years. But Heim’s vault into the ranks of Cup Series winners was pleasantly premature, considering the usual growth process often takes roughly 100 races to graduate to winning — even for some of the sport’s brightest young stars.
“I think it surprises you in the sense of it’s pretty quick, but it doesn’t surprise you when you look at his preparation, when you look at his talent and the rest of those kinds of things,” Toyota Racing Development president Tyler Gibbs told NASCAR.com after sharing some of Heim’s spoils in Victory Lane. “You look at the equipment that he’s in. I don’t want to say that he should, but again, he’s going to have these opportunities, and he’s made the most of it today. A lot of these guys don’t have as much patience in you, and we’ve talked about this over and over, him starting slowly in ARCA and then going to a full season, starting slowly in trucks and then going full time, and then starting here with only five races last year and 12 races this year, but you’re seeing that patience really pay off to be in good equipment. He’s really mature for his age and incredibly talented.”
Count Hamlin among the eyebrow raisers. Hamlin’s three-race winning streak on the circuit ended with a 14th-place finish, but it’s a stretch to call it much of a loss given his dual roles. He wore an ear-to-ear grin as he strolled into the winning team’s post-race press conference for the fourth consecutive week, this time representing the 23XI outfit that he co-owns with NBA great Michael Jordan.
The sixth-year organization savored a banner day, with all four of its cars running among the top five at one point during the race’s latter moments. Reddick stood as one of the strongest challengers until a flat tire dropped him to 25th in the finishing order, and 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace notched a career-best road-course result in second place, rallying from a detached wheel and a two-lap penalty early on.
Heim, though, was the stunner, even though his pace and composure in a pressure-packed battle with Reddick provided Hamlin with needed context.
“Really surprised. I mean, truthfully, really surprised,” Hamlin said. “Now, if you would have asked me in the middle of the race, I wouldn’t have been that surprised. I got to race around him enough to know he had plenty of speed. I knew he was on the right side of the strategy cycle. Yeah, I mean, you’ve still got to go out there and beat some of the best, have enough speed. I saw that margin of victory over second, third was like 10 seconds or something. Evidently, him and Tyler set a really fast pace there on that last run. But this was not expected by any means. I was very pleasantly surprised.”
Heim’s rapid ascent had some parallels in the No. 67 pit box, with the developmental 23XI pit crew that serviced Heim’s car also delighting in the beer-soaked celebration. Rear-tire changer Joe Carol walked away from the winner’s stage with some of the tongue-out swagger that characterized Jordan’s heyday. It wasn’t just his first win; it was his first Cup Series race, drawing some good-natured teasing from his teammates. “Retire,” they told him, knowing that the feeling of being a perfect 1-for-1 would be fleeting.
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Like Heim, the No. 67 group carried the sharpness of an experienced crew in a clutch situation. When Heim made his final pit stop with 16 laps remaining, he veered to pit road at the same time as fellow contender and late-race leader Kyle Larson. The call for both teams was four tires and fuel, and Heim’s car left pit road holding serve with virtually the same margin behind the reigning Cup champ’s No. 5 Chevrolet.
“Honestly, it was a roller coaster today,” No. 67 front-tire changer Dante Johnson told NASCAR.com. “It was a close race, but me and the guys, we made sure we just stayed locked in towards the end, just making sure we give Corey a chance, really, just to make sure we all come together, be smooth, and just be there for him to the end until we finish it. It’s a great and just an amazing feeling. I’m speechless.”
Sunday was supposed to be Heim’s second road-course start in the Cup Series. Last year’s trip to the Chicago Street Race ended with a discouraging outcome before the weekend hit full stride, with the No. 67 team failing to qualify on the day Heim turned 22 — “worst birthday of all time,” he said Sunday.
The setback provided Heim with ample personal motivation to avoid a repeat, but he also found plenty of support from his 23XI peers.
“I’ll tell you what I told him after this: I have so much faith in him,” said No. 67 crew chief Robert “Bootie” Barker. “I said, ‘It’s no big deal. You shake it off, man.’ He was extremely upset, don’t get me wrong. He even mentioned it the other day that he let us down. I said, we do not look at it that way. I knew, I said, This is nothing. I said, This is a blip, because I had confidence in where we were going to be, what we do.
“Don’t get me wrong. He took it hard. It was on his birthday, as well. It was tough. I mean, it’s lingered. He remembered it coming here, so … it’s great he could redeem himself in his mind. To me, while it was a big deal, y’all got to understand, I still told him where he’s going to be is well beyond that.”
Like his Navy cohorts seemed to know in pre-race ceremonies, it was only a matter of time.
“That’s all full circle for me, going from one street course just crushing my life to probably the best day of my life here a year later,” Heim said. “Just funny how that works sometimes.”