In this weekend’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, 14-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race-winner Corey Heim is getting back behind the wheel of an entry in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The event will mark Heim’s fourth start at NASCAR’s top level over the last two seasons, and his second with 23XI Racing, which is fielding a fourth entry, the No. 67 Robinhood Toyota Camry XSE, for Heim in select events throughout the 2025 season, starting this weekend.
A native of Marietta, Georgia, Heim will be running double-duty this weekend at the Kansas City, Kansas racetrack, competing in Saturday’s Heart of Health Care 200 for the NASCAR Truck Series (in the No. 11 for TRICON Garage) before running Sunday’s 400-miler.
While Heim didn’t necessarily get a ton of say in which racetracks he’d be competing at in his limited NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the 22-year-old driver says starting the year off at Kansas – a racetrack at which he’s made a start at NASCAR’s top level – was a no-brainer.
“I don’t think I really had a pick for my races this year, but I was able to sit down with 23XI Racing and kind of discuss what makes sense,” Heim told the media on Saturday. “With this being my opening Cup race on the 2025 campaign for myself, being able to run it in 2024 was a big reason why I was able to knock the rust off a little bit.”
Last May, Heim jumped behind the wheel of a NASCAR Cup Series entry for back-to-back weekends as an interim driver for Erik Jones, who was forced to sit out due to an injury sustained to his back in an accident at Talladega Superspeedway. Despite competing for a top-12 result late in the race, Heim dropped to 22nd at the finish because of a last-lap spin.
“The last time I raced a Cup car was pretty close to a year ago – I think it was in June of last year. It was probably important for me to come out and not look like a fish out of water the first time back and be able to lean on some prior experience and come back to Kansas,” Heim added. “I had a little bit of say myself, but I think it just made sense on both sides.”
After a couple of solid runs in a minimal NASCAR Cup Series campaign in 2024 – running in the top-12 at Kansas and then laying down a solid top-15 run with 23XI Racing at Nashville Superspeedway – the top-ranked prospect doesn’t have a particular goal for himself this weekend.
“I don’t think personally, I set rock solid goals or standards for any of these races,” Heim said. “I think a lot of it is just preparing to the best of my ability and executing to the best of my ability. Looking back at the Kansas race when I filled in for Erik Jones last year, there was a lot of things that stood out to improve on, I think that is the first step – just go in the right direction and progress the right way.”
“I think with the resources that 23XI Racing has been able to give me over the last couple of months to prepare for this race, I feel like I’ve got a good opportunity to come in and perform very well, so I think at this point, it is just about executing on the things I’ve learned this year with 23XI Racing and definitely super excited.”
For Heim, Kansas is a great place to get back behind the wheel of a NASCAR Cup Series vehicle because it’s one of his favorite racetracks. Although, having swept both of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events at the racetrack might also have helped the 1.5-mile racetrack climb up the ranks.
“I think I feel really comfortable when I come here, and I think that is just the prior experience I had here,” Heim added. “I’ve probably got six or more ARCA races here and six or more Truck races here. Just that experience alone makes me feel comfortable and very prepared coming into this race. I feel like there is not so many things that I’m having to soak up during the week and prepare on.”
In addition to this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway, Heim will get back behind the wheel of the No. 67 Toyota Camry XSE in events at Nashville Superspeedway during the first weekend in June, as well as the Chicago Street Course at the beginning of July. However, for Heim, the goal is to expand that schedule even more throughout the season.
“I think Nashville being a race that I ran last year. I ran with 23XI Racing last year, my only start to date with that team. So to be able to go back and dive in with the exact team that I raced for, and then go back and try to improve on that is a really cool opportunity – just to be able to sit down with those guys that developed me at 23XI Racing and hopefully, improve on that going into that race.”
Any place that you have laps at and you can go back and study and try to improve on that is really big, especially with this car. So yeah, have a lot of starts there with the Truck races and that Cup race last year, so it all helps for sure.”
Although Sunday will mark only his fourth NASCAR Cup Series start, the amount of success that Heim has found in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has many convinced that he could succeed while moving up a level into the Xfinity Series, or even into the Cup Series.
“I don’t really let that get to me too much,” Heim said. “I just focus on the current opportunities that I have at hand. I definitely feel like I’m ready to make Cup starts – I don’t know if I’m ready to be a full-time Cup driver, that is what I’m learning as I go. I certainly feel like I am, but it is going out and proving that.”
“I’m really happy with the opportunities that Toyota and 23XI have given me the past couple of years. I’m very happy with my 11 crew on the Truck side, and the 67 guys on the Cup side. I think I have a lot of things going for me in the right direction, and I’m very happy with my opportunities.”
Heim will contest the AdventHealth 400 on Sunday, May 11 at 3:00 PM ET. Coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. In-car cameras will be available on MAX, with the No. 67 Toyota Camry XSE being one of the four featured in-car cams.
