Michael Jordan wins another NASCAR crown jewel | Sports News

It wasn’t Tyler Reddick or 2025 winner Bubba Wallace who claimed victory on the 2026 Brickyard 400. Instead, another 23IX Racing Driver, the 24-year-old Corey Heim, received his first NASCAR crown jewel race.

Heim handed 23 XI-Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin on the ultimate restart and held on to the end line to turn into the youngest driver since Jeff Gordon in 1994 to win the Brickyard 400.

Jordan captured a crown jewel final 12 months with Wallace’s Brickyard win (his first). Reddick is with out one. Heim’s win fingers the six-time NBA Champion his second as a co-owner.

Sunday’s race was Heim’s 14th profession begin within the Cup Series. It was his third straight top-10 end and second win of the 12 months (the 2026 Anduril 250 in San Diego was his first).

Heim has mentioned that Jordan checks in on him usually.”I have had a lot of interaction with (Jordan),” he mentioned. “That’s something a lot of people always ask me, and I tell them he reaches out to me whether I run 30th or whether I win the race. He’s a very supportive guy, whether it’s ‘Keep your head up,’ or ‘Hey, nice job today.'”

Heim, the fourth driver to win more than one Cup Series race earlier than turning into a full-time driver, was relieved post-race and referred to as his day a “handful.”

“That was a rattling handful. I used to be hanging on for pricey life as soon as the shade went down and the tempo picked up,” Heim explained. “My car obtained actually free, and I by no means actually be in a lot of clean air all through the day.

“So that was the hardest I’ve ever fought in my life just to make sure I focused on exits and keep him in dirty air. That was a workout.”

Heim then spoke of the magnitude of the second. “This is a dream come true,” he mentioned. “Winning at the Brickyard, that is unbelievable. Thank you so much, fans, for coming out here. That was awesome.”