When 23XI Racing was rumored to add a third charter to its roster, most of the fans thought Corey Heim would be the preferred pick to drive the third car. But when the curtain dropped, Riley Herbst was announced as the driver of the No. 35 Toyota Camry, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of 23XI supporters, who were expecting something big. With 10 races in the Truck Series, he proved that he is cut out for the big leagues, but the Cup Series is a different ball game.

The 22-year-old driver has enough time to groom himself and get exposure to the premier series before he hops onto his rookie ride. Although 23XI Racing couldn’t offer him a full-time ride, they took him under their wing as a development driver, and he will compete in multiple Cup Series races during this tenure, starting this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Given the talent and hype surrounding Heim, the weight of expectation could crush the young driver in the early goings, and the finishes might not reflect his improvement on the track. So, how exactly will the team measure the level of progress he is making with this partial stint? Well, Denny Hamlin has an answer for this question.

Denny Hamlin is keeping his expectations in check

“Just progression. There’s not a finishing spot in which you’re like, ‘Hey, I’ll be happy if they finish whatever.’ I’ve learned after I watched the race this weekend. Where you run and where you finish are two wildly different things… There’s definitely a difference between how you run and how you finish. So that’s why I don’t like going back to Corey Heim, saying this finishing position is a goal.” Hamlin said on Actions Detrimental.

Making progress through the field, rather than catapulting yourself for a good finish, is what defines success for Hamlin when judging a young driver. Heim is no stranger to piloting a Cup car, he had to spring into action last year when Erik Jones from LMC suffered a back injury at Talladega. In the two races he competed in, Heim brought home the car with a top 25 finish, without wrecking or trying to do something fancy.

In the Truck Series, Heim has been in contention to win the race almost every weekend. With three wins and two top-five finishes, he has emerged as a genuine title contender. Add the duty of piloting a Cup Series and an Xfinity Series car, the young driver will have the opportunity to prove his worth to the competition. As far as expectation goes, progress beyond just the actual finish is what his team will be seeking from him.

“If he had inside top 15 speed, that ‘d be a really good day.” Hamlin went on to explain why he’s set the speed as the benchmark for progress. “Making speed with that car at that track, and that’s one kind of the uphill climb that Riley Herbst has, right? It’s a double whammy, he’s going to have to come from the back, but I have enough faith that myself and him, we’ll be able to make it up through there. But it’s just track time.”

Apart from Heim, Hamlin has been keeping a close eye on the Xfinity race at Texas Motor Speedway. Although Kyle Larson emerged victorious after a series of cautions and an overtime finish, he felt JRM fumbled big time in helping Justin Allgaier bid for the win.

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Hamlin questions JRM’s strategy at Texas

Justin Aallgaier looked to be the genuine contender for the race win before Kyle Larson made a pass on him late in the race. Despite leading 99 laps, he was mired in traffic and ultimately ended his day in a crash. After losing the lead, Allagier was desperately trying to chase down Larson, but in the process, he got tangled up with Chris Wright, who was multiple laps down. Allgaier took the responsibility of the crash, “I’m trying to catch back to the 88 [Kyle Larson], you know, and trying to push, and ultimately put myself in a bad position.” But, Hamlin feels the #7 team could’ve done a better job.

“They just didn’t pit him at the right time… Allgaier was in some traffic, and then he was getting held up by that traffic. They ran him out there for three or four laps. Allgaier was dropping six-tenths battling with these guys. I almost tweeted out that with almost 40-50 [laps] to go, that guy is trying to do that thing again, which is lap the field. It was consistent.” Hamlin explained.

Texas race weekend wasn’t all great for Hamlin himself as his #11 Toyota Camry erupted in flames, resulting in his first DNF of the season. So the Kansas race weekend is going to be huge, not just for the team owner, but also for the driver Denny Hamlin.