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NASCAR Rumors: Latest Buzz on Where Corey Heim May Race in 2026
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- NASCAR Rumors: Latest Buzz on Where Corey Heim May Race in 2026
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Corey Heim is one of the top NASCAR prospects right now, viewed by many as a future star in the Cup Series. Coming off a dominant regular season driving the No. 11 for the Truck Series, one of the biggest questions in the industry right now is where Heim will be driving next season.
The Instagram account nascarrumornostalgia , well-known for some of its insight into the sport, shared the speculation around NASCAR is that Heim will join Sam Hunt Racing next season in "some capacity." It could wind up being a part-time role between the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series in 2026.
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Related: Front Runner Emerges to Replace Corey Heim in NASCAR Truck Series
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Corey Heim stats ( Truck Series ): 2,065 points, 7 wins, 14 top 10s, 12 top 5s, 5 poles, 1,127 laps led, 4.667 average starting position, 6.444 average finishing position in 18 races
There had previously been some speculation that Heim could be pursued by Spire Motorsports, with Cup driver Justin Haley on the hot seat . Amid reports that the No. 7 car could be open, Spire's president admitted the team isn't happy with Haley's results, and a change was possible before next season.
A pursuit by Spire would put 23XI Racing in a tough spot. Amid its ongoing antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, the team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin already has three full-time drivers. While Cup rookie Riley Herbst sits at the bottom of the standings, the financial backing he brings to the team isn't something 23XI can necessarily afford to sacrifice right now.
So, unless 23XI loses its charter for next season and Tyler Reddick leaves because of it, using his contract opt-out, there isn't a full-time ride available for Heim with his current development team. If another team offered him a full-time ride, 23XI wouldn't be able to beat that offer.
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Heim, who turned 23 years old in July, does have some incentive to stay committed to the development plan laid out for him by 23XI and Toyota. As he told YouTuber Eric Estepp in an interview last week , he grew up a fan of Hamlin.
"I'd say so for the most part. I feel like with my development with Toyota, they've always kinda put me in a good spot to succeed…Yes, it's easy to get greedy when you feel like you can perform at the top level, which I feel like I can given the right opportunity. But at the same time, it's like, I'm surrounded by really good people that tell me to trust the process and they've been telling me that since 2020 and so far the process has been great for me…I'm continuing to trust that process and I feel like, sooner than later, that will pay off and I'll be in a really good position in the Cup Series…I feel like the spot I'm in is very ideal for my future, so for me, I just think it's the best place to be for myself."
Related: NASCAR Prospects Who Could be Future Stars in the Cup Series
Hamlin also said this past week during a press conference at Richmond that Heim is 23XI's development driver "for the foreseeable future" and has plenty of races ahead of him with the team.
If the recent speculation on Heim proves accurate, it would align with his commitment to Toyota. He could drive part-time for Sam Hunt Racing, a Toyota team, in the Xfinity Series while also racing in select events for 23XI at the Cup level and Tricon Garage at the Truck level next season.
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While it's not the accelerated path to a full-time Cup ride that Carson Hocevar and soon Connor Zilisch are on, it would be a very similar development path to the one used for Ryan Blaney in 2015.
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