{"id":59962,"date":"2026-07-26T18:05:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T23:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=59962"},"modified":"2026-07-27T14:14:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T19:14:57","slug":"corey-heim-pulls-off-brickyard-shocker-as-part-time-nascar-cup-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/26\/corey-heim-pulls-off-brickyard-shocker-as-part-time-nascar-cup-driver\/","title":{"rendered":"Corey Heim pulls off Brickyard shocker as part-time NASCAR Cup driver"},"content":{"rendered":"
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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Corey Heim, driver of the #67 Field & Stream Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

SPEEDWAY, Ind.\u2014Corey Heim stood on the frontstretch at Indianapolis Motor Speedway drained from the effort it took to win one of the NASCAR Cup Series\u2019 Crown Jewel races\u2014the Brickyard 400.<\/p>\n

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Corey Heim, driver of the #67 Field & Stream Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Logan Riely\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

In a race that produced an unexpected winner and an unexpected millionaire, Heim held off Christopher Bell and Joey Logano over the final 34-lap green-flag run on Sunday to win his second Cup Series race in his 15th start.<\/p>\n

Not bad for a part-timer who won\u2019t step into a full-time seat with 23XI Racing until next year. Heim, who won at Naval Base Coronado in June, was driving the No. 67 Toyota for the eighth time this season in his first visit to the Brickyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that was a damn handful,\u201d Heim said of the final run. \u201cI was hanging on for dear life once the shade went down and the pace picked up. My car got really loose. And I had never really been in a lot of clean air throughout the day, so that was the hardest I’ve ever fought in my life to just make sure I focused on exits and kept them (Bell and Logano) in dirty air.<\/p>\n

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Corey Heim, driver of the #67 Field & Stream Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI’m pretty out of breath. That was a workout. It was a dream come true. Winning at the Brickyard. That’s unbelievable. Caught a break early with the pit cycle. And just executed all day. Made no mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the finals of the Cup Series In-Season Challenge, 25th-seeded Todd Gilliland took advantage of third-seeded Ryan Blaney\u2019s unfortunate wreck on Lap 120 to win the $1-million winner-take-all prize by two positions, 24th to Blaney\u2019s 26th.<\/p>\n

Blaney was comfortably ahead in the race for the Challenge bounty when his No. 12 Ford turned off the nose of John Hunter Nemechek\u2019s Toyota to ignite an accident that collected nine cars.<\/p>\n

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Corey Heim, driver of the #67 Field & Stream Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Logan Riely\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt feels really good,\u201d said Gilliland, who survived five rounds to prevail in the Challenge. \u201cObviously, we wish we ran a little bit better than 24th today, but we did what we had to do. Really, that was the name of our game all the way throughout this Challenge. We just barely skated by.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were obviously a bit lucky, but we still stuck out these races. We did the best we could, and luckily it was good enough, just barely every single round. It\u2019s a big prize. One million dollars going to the team. That\u2019s just massive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The restart on Lap 127\u2014after the nine-car wreck that ruined Blaney\u2019s chances in the In-Season Challenge\u2014made all the difference in the outcome of the race.<\/p>\n

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Corey Heim, driver of the #67 Field & Stream Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Leader Denny Hamlin chose the preferred inside lane, while Heim picked the outside. Hamlin had two of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Bell and Chase Briscoe, behind him on the bottom row, but they failed to organize a coordinated push.<\/p>\n

Heim, on the other hand, got a strong, sustained shove from Logano in the top lane and barely cleared Hamlin before slipping in front of his 23XI Racing team owner and stalling his momentum. Hamlin fell to fifth in the running order behind Heim, Bell, Logano and Briscoe, and that\u2019s the way the race ended more than 30 laps later.<\/p>\n

In the final green-flag run, Heim slipped noticeably only once\u2014entering Turn 1 on Lap 198\u2014and allowed Bell to close within a car-length.<\/p>\n

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, leads the field to start the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

But by keeping Bell\u2019s No. 20 Toyota in dirty air, Heim extended his advantage over the final two trips around the 2.5-mile track and crossed the famous Yard of Bricks 0.287 seconds ahead of the JGR driver, who finished second for the sixth time this season without a win.<\/p>\n

Bell had nothing but praise for the 24-year-old race winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I didn’t think I was going to be able to get there at all,\u201d Bell said. \u201cMy guys were telling me he was going loose. I knew really that was going to be my only opportunity, was a mistake from him. I knew whatever it was, 35 laps, was a very long run. I just needed one bobble. If he had one bobble, I was going to be able to get there.<\/p>\n

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Ty Gibbs, driver of the #54 SAIA Freight + Logistics Toyota, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cYeah, he did a great job. He showed excellent mental toughness. Put together 35 really good laps. I didn’t have an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamlin rued the restart that cost him the chance to win the only Crown Jewel race that has eluded him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, everyone is trying to fight to win the race,\u201d said Hamlin, who extended his series lead to 84 points over 10th-place finisher Tyler Reddick. \u201cWhen you’re clear by an inch, you’re going to take that inch. It’s really more on us and the 20 (Bell) and the 19 (Briscoe) of just not orchestrating good pushes there. We came detached at the wrong time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the 20 obviously was on board with getting us the push. It was way too early before the restart zone. I can’t go till we get to the restart zone. He said that Briscoe was on him way, way early or laying back, one of the two.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that’s how you lose ’em. These restarts, when everyone kind of knows when you’re going to go, it’s about the pushes. That’s essentially where I got the lead from the 67 the restart before (on Lap 120). Just came back the other way around. I maybe was in there just a hair into Turn 2. (Heim) shut the door. I mean, yeah, everyone’s fighting for a big Brickyard victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Todd Gilliland, driver of the #34 Grillo’s Pickles Ford, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Logan Riely\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Two other factors helped Heim\u2019s cause. He was on pit road on Lap 44 when, Kyle Larson\u2019s wreck caused the first caution. Gaining spots as the field slowed for the yellow, Heim finished second in Stage 1 after a one-lap dash.<\/p>\n

After a debris caution on Lap 114, Heim was first off pit road after running long in Stage 2 and needing a shorter stop for fuel. Though Hamlin regained the lead on the Lap 120 restart, Heim took it back on the restart that proved decisive.<\/p>\n

Brad Keselowski finished sixth, followed by Josh Berry, Ryan Preece, pole winner Carson Hocevar and Reddick. Ty Gibbs won the first stage, led twice for 46 laps\u2014second only to Heim\u2019s 58\u2014and clinched a spot in the Chase with a 12th-place finish.<\/p>\n

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Todd Gilliland, driver of the #34 Grillo’s Pickles Ford, celebrates winning the NASCAR inaugural one million dollar In-Season Challenge after the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Four races remain before the 16-driver Chase field is set.<\/p>\n

Rotten luck continued to follow reigning series champion Kyle Larson, who maneuvered himself into a race-leading position with an early pit stop on Lap 28, only to have his strategy fall apart thanks to a blown left-rear tire 17 laps later.<\/p>\n

When the tire lost air near the end of the backstretch, Larson\u2019s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet backed into the outside wall, severely damaging the car.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously disappointing,\u201d Larson said after his release from the infield care center. \u201cTo go from 10th to the lead on a good start and race strategy set ourselves up well to gain a lot of points there and set ourselves up well to maintain that track position the rest of the race.<\/p>\n

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JULY 26: Corey Heim, driver of the #67 Field & Stream Toyota, kisses the yard of bricks after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bummer but just a part of racing … I had no warning. When I lifted, I felt it drop and spun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larson, coming off a 15th-place finish at North Wilkesboro after consecutive 34th-place result at Chicagoland and Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway, fell out of the race in last (39th) place.<\/p>\n

On a star-crossed day for Hendrick Motorsports, Chase Elliott fared little better than his teammate. Racing in close quarters with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on Lap 60, Elliott slammed the outside wall just beyond the Turn 2 exit.<\/p>\n

Attempts to repair the car on pit road proved futile, forcing Elliott to drive the No. 9 Chevrolet to the garage. Elliott returned to the track 41 laps down and finished 37th.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

Race winner Corey Heim (No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota –<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Crew chief Bootie Barker and 23XI Racing team president Steve Lauletta (No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/NCSIMSBarkerLauletta072626.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Season Challenge Winner Todd Gilliland (No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GillilandIMSISC.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

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NASCAR Cup Series Race – Brickyard 400 presented by PPG<\/b><\/p>\n

Indianapolis Motor Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Speedway, Indiana<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, July 26, 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

                  1. (7)  Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 160.<\/p>\n

                  2. (23)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 160.<\/p>\n

                  3. (19)  Joey Logano, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  4. (11)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 160.<\/p>\n

                  5. (5)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160.<\/p>\n

                  6. (16)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  7. (26)  Josh Berry, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  8. (34)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  9. (1)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  10. (3)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 160.<\/p>\n

                  11. (15)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  12. (4)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 160.<\/p>\n

                  13. (12)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  14. (35)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  15. (30)  Zane Smith, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  16. (25)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  17. (2)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  18. (6)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  19. (8)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  20. (24)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  21. (21)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  22. (33)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  23. (22)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  24. (36)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  25. (9)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  26. (13)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                  27. (14)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 160.<\/p>\n

                  28. (29)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 160.<\/p>\n

                  29. (20)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  30. (28)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  31. (37)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 160.<\/p>\n

                  32. (17)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 158.<\/p>\n

                  33. (32)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 125.<\/p>\n

                  34. (31)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, Accident, 122.<\/p>\n

                  35. (38)  Casey Mears, Chevrolet, Accident, 121.<\/p>\n

                  36. (18)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, Accident, 120.<\/p>\n

                  37. (27)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 119.<\/p>\n

                  38. (39)  Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 93.<\/p>\n

                  39. (10)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 43.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  127.422 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 8 Mins, 21 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .287 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  5 for 27 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  15 among 11 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   C. Hocevar 1-31;D. Suarez 32;D. Hamlin 33-39;T. Reddick 40;*. Heim(i) 41-44;T. Gibbs 45-74;*. Heim(i) 75-91;J. Nemechek 92;J. Berry 93;C. Briscoe 94;R. Preece 95;R. Chastain 96-100;T. Gibbs 101-116;*. Heim(i) 117-118;D. Hamlin 119-125;*. Heim(i) 126-160.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  * Corey Heim(i) 4 times for 58 laps; Ty Gibbs 2 times for 46 laps; Carson Hocevar 1 time for 31 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 14 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 5 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 1 lap; Josh Berry 1 time for 1 lap; John Hunter Nemechek 1 time for 1 lap; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 1 lap; Ryan Preece 1 time for 1 lap; Daniel Suarez 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 54,67,71,77,24,11,7,19,17,45<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,34,54,11,67,77,60,71,43,7<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPEEDWAY, Ind.\u2014Corey Heim stood on the frontstretch at Indianapolis Motor Speedway drained from the effort it took to win one of the NASCAR Cup Series\u2019 Crown Jewel races\u2014the Brickyard 400. In a race that produced an unexpected winner and an unexpected millionaire, Heim held off Christopher Bell and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":59971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[303,867,421,16],"class_list":["post-59962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-brickyard-400","tag-corey-heim","tag-indianapolis-motor-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2287761485-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-fB8","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59962"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59988,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59962\/revisions\/59988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}