Corey Heim, Carson Hocevar square off in Brickyard duel: ‘Handed him a big fat L’

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Brickyard 400 polesitter Carson Hocevar made his feelings for Corey Heim known with a handy salute down the famed frontstretch of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Heim handled it just fine, surging to the lead late and winning the Brickyard 400 Sunday afternoon to score his first crown-jewel victory in the NASCAR Cup Series and second win in just his 15th career start, all on a part-time schedule. MORE: Race results | At-track photos Heim was busy heading to pit road when the one-finger salute sailed out the window from Hocevar's No. 77 Chevrolet, so it wasn't until Heim was with the crew of TNT Sports' post-race show that he learned his adversary signaled anything at all. Fresh off a Victory Lane celebration, Heim was unfazed. "Handed him a big fat L," Heim quipped. Hocevar just wanted to acknowledge a rival in passing. "I'm just a fan, wanted to wave. He's number one. He won," Hocevar said. "It's fine. We don't like each other, but we race really hard and his stuff's super fast, obviously. Yeah, the car he's in, but he does a really, really good job with it. I'm looking forward to, when we get our stuff a little better, being in front of him, and maybe holding him off." The on-track action was certainly a storyline. Heim and Hocevar were both fighting inside the top five when battling for position, and Heim eventually needed to block Hocevar's momentum. Despite their history -- which dates back to heated clashes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series -- none of the action at Indianapolis was personal. "I was blocking him, not really too bad, I thought," Heim said. "I mean, I was trying to just hold my position, and I never threw like a bad block. I was just trying to protect my entry, and he didn't like it, but he lost and I won, so I don't really care." Hocevar added that their strengths on the track factor into how often they battle each other -- and why those interactions sometimes go awry. "We're both good at manipulating air, so a lot of times, we're just pissing each other off," Hocevar said. "I mean, clearly for him, he won, so he don't care. But for me today, I'm like, damn it. It just makes it more difficult than some of the other guys in the field you can take advantage of. So it's just like, damn! I wish they were still holding him out and running him part-time because that's eventually a car I'll have to race." Indeed, Heim will join the full-time Cup ranks in 2027, driving the No. 35 Toyota for 23XI Racing. And after he was posed with a third question about Hocevar in his post-race winner's press conference, Heim emphasized Hocevar was not a topic occupying much space in his brain. "Where did he finish today? ... You guys love talking about a guy who finished ninth. I mean, holy crap," Heim said. "Yeah, I mean, all I did was make sure he stayed behind me, and I did, and I finished in front of him. I don't worry about a narrative or a genre. Like, he's got a ton of talent, and he's going to win a lot of races, and I'm focused on myself and trying to do the same. That's really all there is to it."