Corey Heim on first NASCAR win, Michael Jordan | Sports News

Corey Heim grew up dreaming of changing into a NASCAR Cup Series winner. But even he couldn’t have imagined the circumstances surrounding his first journey to Victory Lane.

The breakthrough victory got here at NASCAR’s historic occasion in San Diego, held on an energetic army base. His post-race interview with Prime Video happened aboard an plane service.

The car was owned by the driving force he idolized growing up, Denny Hamlin, and one of the most important sporting icons on the planet, Michael Jordan.

“It’s been a phenomenal experience from start to finish,” Heim displays. “Really, really cool weekend at San Diego, even before we won the race.

“Just to be able to be there racing on a Naval base is pretty extraordinary to begin with, but all the optics of the event, with the aircraft carrier being at the track, being right on the water in San Diego on Coronado, was super cool.

“So, props to NASCAR for putting that event on, but to stack the win on top of it, man, it’s quite the weekend, and very thankful to be a part of it. First one is super special for me, and definitely hoping to get some more soon.”

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The celebrations continued long into the evening. Heim and his crew headed to I Bar — made well-known by Top Gun — and have been later joined by Hamlin. Jordan was not in attendance, however he had already reached out from afar, simply as he does after each race weekend.

“You know, it’s funny, he texts me regardless of whether I run 30th or whether I won the race, you know what I mean,” Heim reveals.

“He’s a super supportive guy, whether it’s a ‘hey, keep your head up’, or a ‘congratulations’ text, it’s always one or the other.

“He’s very involved, a lot more involved, and I think a lot of people would assume from his perspective. So to hear from him was, of course, it was awesome.”

For Heim, Jordan’s involvement has been one of probably the most stunning facets of racing for 23XI Racing.

“I remember the first time I met him was 2025 in Daytona in February for the 500 weekend last year, and it never has felt like I’m talking to Michael Jordan, if that makes sense.

“He’s such a down-to-earth guy, just has some great stories, and he’s really easy to hang out with and talk to.

“But he’s also just so supportive, has invested so much into this 23XI organization. The cars have been just fantastic this year, so he’s done a great job, and yeah, just, just super cool to be a part of it, for sure.”

Jordan’s message was not the one notable one to reach as Heim’s telephone full of congratulations.

Team proprietor Hamlin inadvertently added some intrigue to the aftermath of the race when he gave away Heim’s telephone quantity to Carson Hocevar, unaware he had been spun by his driver on the best way to victory.

“It’s a little ironic, because when Denny was talking about it, he was like, ‘oh, I thought he was gonna get my number to congratulate him. I didn’t realize he turned him around’.

“But ironically, he (Hocevar) actually did reach out to congratulate me. You know, we’ve had our run-ins in the past, but he texted me, basically said, like, ‘hey, I’ve had that one coming for a long time’.

“Of course, he won Talladega recently, and he was like, you know, ‘first one special, I got to experience that recently, and I hope you enjoy that part of it’. So, that was cool to see that from him.”

Despite their on-track clashes, Heim appreciated Hocevar’s willingness to separate racing incidents from personal relationships.

“I think, honestly, Carson’s never been a guy, off track, to be a burden by any means, but I think everyone can agree that he is a burden on track.

“But at the same time, you kind of got to race people the way they race you, and unfortunately he was victim of that.”

As the closing laps wound down in San Diego, Heim discovered himself battling teammate Tyler Reddick for the victory. The problem was not simply beating Reddick – it was making certain he lastly transformed pace into a end result after a number of missed alternatives earlier within the season.

“It’s been an up-and-down year for us, of course, and you know, we’ve had a lot of speed this year,” Heim admits.

“We’ve had chances to run very well, and this was our first real opportunity we’ve had to probably win a race when we kind of get down to the nitty gritty of the race.”

Recent errors, together with one at Nashville, had left Heim decided to not let one other alternative slip away.

“So sort of had a chip on my shoulder going into San Diego, and the rest of the year, that like, hey, we’ve got the best cars in the field right now, like, I got to take advantage of this and put a little pressure on myself to not even win a race, but just go ahead and get a good solid finish, you know.

“I was definitely thinking about that in the closing laps, making sure I didn’t do anything to put that finish in jeopardy, so try to pass Tyler (Reddick) really clean.

“It was great to race him for the win there at the end. So to not only have a good finish, you know, first time this year, but also be able to win the race is a fantastic feeling for myself, and I’m sure it is for the 67 guys as well.”

The victory arrives at an important second in Heim’s profession.

A number of weeks earlier, 23XI Racing introduced he would transfer into a full-time Cup Series journey subsequent season. That transition will now start with the arrogance that comes from already being a Cup race winner after solely 13 begins.

“I don’t think it really puts any more pressure on me, per se, and it also doesn’t really take any off, you know,” he says.

“I think my goal next year is to make the playoffs, but with that being said, I’m not really a guy that, projects what I want to do in a certain year.

“Like I didn’t write down on a piece of paper at the beginning of the year, like my goal was to win X amount of races in this series, or whatever. I feel like I’ve always just kind of taken it week by week.”

Rather than focusing on expectations, Heim believes the secret’s proving he can persistently contend.

“San Diego was a good opportunity for me to run well, just because no one had ever seen that track before, so it was really going to come down to whoever adapted the best.

“I just need to prove that I can go and do it again. So definitely don’t think it takes any pressure on me, but I also haven’t really felt that it puts any more on me either.”

While frustration has lingered at instances this season after dominating the Truck Series en path to final yr’s championship, Heim believes his unconventional path to a full-time Cup seat might in the end work in his favor.

“I feel like this is a really good, healthy development program for me, and it’s kind of uncommon, you see this in modern-day NASCAR.

“A lot of guys will go from O’Reilly or Truck straight to a Cup car in a full-time season, without even getting, like, sort of a bridge to that full-time year.

“They don’t really get an opportunity to race part-time, get some notes, and sort of digest that for that first full-time year. So, the fact that I’ve been able to do that is a great feeling.”

The expertise gained via a part-time Cup schedule, he believes, can pay dividends when his rookie marketing campaign begins in earnest.

“I definitely think it’ll help jumpstart my year next year, just because I’ve got a little bit of a rhythm now. I’m racing every two to three weeks, 12 starts this year, so it definitely helps, for sure.”

For now, Heim has time to savor the most important victory of his profession earlier than returning to Cup competitors at Chicagoland on July 5.

More importantly, the win has bolstered a growing perception within each driver and crew that it’ll not be a one-off.

“I think it was just a big confidence boost for everybody,” he says.

“The fact that we’re able to put it all together that weekend has given everyone really a lot of confidence in myself, but also in themselves too.

“I think it gives the organization some confidence to know that we can get multiple cars in Victory Lane in the same year. And I think going to Chicago in two weeks, everyone’s pretty confident we’ve got a shot to go do it again.

“So, definitely going to try to do that.”