Corey Heim may be a part-time driver in Cup, but he’s a full-bore freight train of talent.
This past weekend’s first-ever street course race at an active US Navy base may be one of the coolest moments of the 2026 NASCAR season so far. Independent of the on-track action – which was excellent – the views were truly something to behold. If seeing dozens of snarling, V8-powered race cars rush by an aircraft carrier didn’t get your blood pumping, you might want to see a doctor to make sure you can handle America’s 250th birthday next month.
The varied surfaces of this all-new track made the racing interesting – even if it did seem like Shane van Gisbergen was going to put on a clinic once again. However, in the early laps of the race, it seemed like SVG held back a bit, experimenting with tire wear and different lines. This allowed drivers like Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Connor Zilisch, and even Austin Hill, who qualified 10th for the Cup race and won the O’Reilly race on Saturday. It was an emotional win for RCR, still reeling from the loss of Kyle Busch.
Unfortunately, things started to unravel quickly on Sunday for many of those frontrunners. Bubba Wallace lost a wheel and went two laps down. Meanwhile, Austin Hill missed his braking zone shortly after the restart and took both SVG and Zilisch out with him. That changed the dynamic of the race dramatically. Now it seemed like anyone could win.
When a caution came out for an engine failure caused Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. to dump fluid all over the track, a pit strategy call paid off for 23XI teammates Corey Heim and Tyler Reddick, who were already on pit road when the caution occurred. Many other competitive cars that didn’t pit before the caution – like Denny Hamlin – found themselves mired back in the teens while the cars that pitted before raced up front.
As the final battle between Heim and Reddick raged, Bubba Wallace, who found himself back on the lead lap, charged back into the top five. Reddick, who is no stranger to road course success, seemed poised to win and further his points lead over Hamlin. Then, a mistake caused Heim to swoop in and make the pass. Reddick, attempting to defend, accidentally bumped Heim, and Reddick let off momentarily to allow Heim to regain his spot.
Unfortunately, at some point, Reddick cut a tire and had to come to pit road, finishing a dismal 26th and leaving San Diego with a mere 8 point lead over Denny Hamlin. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace clawed his way up to second place – remember, he was two laps down at one point – and gave 23XI Racing their first 1-2 finish. And what a finish it was, with Corey Heim, running on a partial schedule this season, wins in his 13th start. According to Denny Hamlin, Blaney joked that the kid would “become a problem” when he runs full time for 23XI next year. We’re inclined to agree.
The Cup series heads to Sonoma this week, which gives Reddick another shot to extend his lead – and Hamlin another chance to overtake him for the points lead.
Photo: NASCAR Digital Media
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