Heim stuns NASCAR, winning the Brickyard 400 at age 24
Denny Hamlin might have mixed feelings about how this year’s Brickyard 400 ended.
On one hand, the veteran driver of the No. 11 Toyota failed to win the only crown jewel race remaining on his resume. A victory would have made Hamlin the fifth driver in NASCAR’s modern era to complete the sport’s so-called grand slam.
But on the other hand, the race was won by the driver that Hamlin has signed to a full-time ride with 23XI Racing next season, the Cup Series team he co-owns with basketball legend Michael Jordan. When discussing Corey Heim last year, Jordan told Hamlin to “lock him up.”
Heim keeps proving that was an incredibly wise decision by Hamlin and Jordan.
On Sunday, July 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Heim took the checkered flag at the storied racetrack, winning the Brickyard 400 in just his 15th career start in the Cup Series. His No. 67 team at 23XI got to kiss the bricks.
“That was a grind right there. Holy (expletive),” Heim said on his radio after crossing the finish line. “That was tough, boys. Let’s go kiss some bricks, boys.”
At just 24 years old, Heim is the second-youngest driver to win the crown jewel in Indianapolis. Jeff Gordon was 23 when he won in 1994.
Heim is running a part-time schedule for 23XI this season in the No. 67 Toyota and this marks his second Cup Series win. He also took the checkered flag on the street course at Naval Base Coronado earlier this year. The champion in the Craftsman Truck Series last season, Heim has also won three truck races this season.
The victory puts Heim in an exclusive group of drivers to win multiple Cup Series races before their first full-time season, joining Tim Richmond and NASCAR Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Davey Allison. Heim is also the first Cup Series driver since AJ Foyt in 1965 to win two races within their first 15 starts.
“That was a damn handful. I was hanging on for dear life,” Heim said after hopping out of the car. “That was the hardest I’ve ever fought in my life. … This is a dream come true to win here at the Brickyard.”
Nearly every driver inside the top 25 pitted with 45 laps to go after a caution came out for debris on the frontstretch. Heim was the first off pit road, followed by Hamlin and Logano. Ryan Preece, who was running fifth when the caution came out, was one of the few drivers to take four tires and it cost him five spots.
On the restart with 34 laps to go, Heim got a good run with a bump from Logano, got in front of Hamlin and then blocked the co-owner of 23XI. Hamlin would eventually fade to fifth place as Bell, Logano and Briscoe raced by him too.
Bell and Logano were both within a second of Heim’s lead several times inside 14 laps to go, but were unable to pass him.