LEBANON, Tenn. – Corey Heim has dreamt of being a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series since he was a child.
On Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway, Heim’s dream came true.
23XI Racing announced Heim will drive the team’s No. 35 Toyota in 2027, joining the Cup ranks on a full-time basis next season after a part-time campaign in 2026.
RELATED: 23XI Racing team site | Nashville schedule
A development driver for 23XI since 2024, Heim has been touted as one of the sport’s top prospects for years, collecting a record 12 wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series last season en route to the 2025 championship. In total, Heim has earned 25 Truck victories since 2022, fifth-most all-time. After 11 Cup starts for 23XI across the past three seasons, including four this year with eight more slated in the No. 67 Toyota, Heim has officially been granted a promotion to NASCAR’s top level.
“It means the world to me,” Heim said Saturday. “I’ve been a part of 23XI Racing for a couple years now on part-time basis, and I firmly believe that as a driver, you just have to be around the right people to succeed. I’ve been driving in NASCAR the last three or four years, and even in the trucks, I felt like I was with the right people and we did the right things, and it’s so important to have the right group around you to succeed. I’ve only started (11) races at 23XI Racing, but I really feel like that is my home, and these people treat me very well.”
Team co-owner Denny Hamlin has been keen to see Heim develop, trying to place his young driver in as many Cup races as possible ahead of his first full-time opportunity. In those 11 Cup starts, Heim has a best finish of sixth, which came last fall at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Hamlin, a 61-time winner in the Cup Series, believes Heim can be a true contender in the Cup Series. Now, he’s providing Heim an opportunity to prove it.
“Generational drivers only come by every now and then, and I firmly believe that we have one here,” Hamlin said. “So I’m really excited about what he’s going to bring our team and the performance that he’s going to bring, and obviously his work ethic is very, very good, and looking forward to working with him in the future.”
Saturday suffices as dream becoming reality for Heim, but with a hint of extra meaning. Heim grew up as a Denny Hamlin fan – with photos to prove it, his father Ray confirmed during Saturday’s press conference.
“2015, I was standing on the grid of the Coke 600 next to (Denny’s pit) box with my Hamlin gear on,” Heim said. “Just a really cool full-circle thing for me to be driving for him. Obviously he didn’t have team back then, so I never like had an aspiration to drive for Denny just because it didn’t exist at that point. But just looking back on it, you just can’t make this stuff up.”
There will be a learning curve for Heim as he devotes himself to the full Cup schedule in 2027, a 38-week grind that tests even the most veteran drivers each season. Heim is set for just 12 Cup starts in 2026 alongside a handful of Craftsman Truck Series appearances. He admits that was a thought he contemplated before the season began, but he said that concern has dwindled throughout the season.
Heim has been testing for Toyota in its wheelforce car, collecting single-car data in six test sessions this season in addition to part-time Truck Series competition and late-model racing.
“It may not be as valuable as straight-up Cup starts by any means, but it just keeps me in the seat and keeps me prepared,” Heim said. “So I’ve got a really solid schedule regardless of only my 12 Cup starts this year. And it also gives me a little bit of opportunity to debrief a little longer on the race. Guys that are rookies this year or last year, I’ve kind of wondered, I’m like, dang, you guys had a fast turnaround to think about what just happened.
“I mean, you’re drinking through a fire hose, as far as all these new things that are happening in the race, and you have like two days or maybe a day to kind of debrief and soak it all in until you have to start preparing for the next one. So this every-two-to-three-week Cup race schedule for me has given me a chance to kind of just think about what just happened and then give me some extra time to prepare for the next one.”
Heim will join 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Champion Tyler Reddick and 2025 Brickyard 400 winner Bubba Wallace as teammates in 2027. The duo of veterans have already been impressed by what Heim has brought to the table, and Reddick believes even more is ahead.
“I’m not quite sure how he does it different, but he does go about it in a different way,” Reddick said of Heim’s racing style. “And the more that I’m around him, I get to understand that. I feel like some of his strengths are stronger than mine, and going forward, it’ll be nice to work with him and hopefully I can learn from him. And obviously, as a teammate, you want to help the other teammates you have and help him learn as he figures it out too.”
“He’ll be competitive for sure,” Wallace added. “He’ll be a lot of fun. I’m excited for him. He’s come to me for a lot of questions and advice over the last couple years that we’ve worked together. It’s been really good.”
With Heim’s entry comes an exit for Riley Herbst, who has driven the No. 35 Toyota for 23XI since the start of the 2025 campaign. And while Reddick and Wallace are happy to see Heim enter the fold, Wallace expressed his appreciation for the departing Herbst.
“Riley Herbst is one of the best, genuine dudes to ever be around,” Wallace said. “One of the most humble kids ever and I’ve always enjoyed our conversations together and our times spent together. So I’d be remiss if I didn’t say I’m pulling for him in every aspect and his future endeavors, wherever that may be and wherever he may end up.”
Heim returns to Cup Series competition at Nashville in the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday evening (7 ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
