On Sunday, Corey Heim made his 4th career start in the NASCAR Cup Series for the Michael Jordan-run 23XI Racing. Along the way, he romped to his career-best finish of 13th at the Kansas Speedway. What made things even sweeter was that he was the best of the 23XI Racing drivers. Tyler Reddick was the closest teammate in 17th, fellow rookie Riley Herbst was down in 27th, and Bubba Wallace ended with a DNF.

Frankly, it was an impressive run from Heim in the #67 Toyota. Especially since he finished 3rd in the Truck race at the same track. However, his good fortune seems to have unlocked a new consequence, in the form of scrutiny on Herbst. Without a doubt, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace are the stars of the show and senior figures. But when Herbst, who has secured the third full-time entry at 23XI got beaten by the Truck Series driver, it raised a few eyebrows. The question that everyone asked was: Did Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin make the right call in giving Herbst the keys to the #35 Toyota Camry?

During the silly season when 23XI Racing was touted to add a third charter to their team, most of the fans believed that Heim was the worthy talent for that ride. But, to everyone’s surprise, Herbst was the one who secured the seat. Now, there might be an element about him bringing the Monster Energy sponsorship. But as far as talent goes, Heim for many was a clear winner. With six race wins in 2024 and narrowly missing out on the championship, Heim also made three Cup Series appearances, replacing injured Erik Jones. Those who have followed Legacy Motor Club would know how difficult it is to gain speed out of those cars, but the Toyota’s finest did a good job.

In comparison, Riley Herbst also had a good 2024, where he bagged two wins in the Xfinity Series and finished the year 7th in the points standings, his best ever finish. But when the two drivers were racing in similar equipment, comparisons were going to be made. Although it is too soon to judge Herbst’s impact within the team, Heim’s P14 run, which is better than Herbst’s 17th place finish, soon became a talking point. “By finishing 13th, Corey Heim has already beat Riley Herbst’s best finish of the season (14th at Texas) in his first Cup start of the year,” a fan page wrote on X.

Surprisingly, not everyone was sold on the notion that Corey Heim is a better driver than Herbst just based on a single race.

NASCAR fans defended Riley Herbst’s performances

Amid Heim’s impressive race at Kansas, a fair number of people leapt to Riley Herbst’s defence. One fan wrote on Reddit, “I mean, it’s really cool that Heim beat Herbst but I doubt it means anything for Heim to move up a level. Even though Heim deserves it.” It has to be noted that Herbst has previously raced in the Cup Series for Rick Ware Racing, and in his debut race, he managed a top 10 result at the Daytona 500. So as good as Heim is as a driver, the comparisons between the two at this stage are premature.

Another person admitted, “Herbst has been fine for a rookie. He finished 14th just last week at Texas. He has 5 top 20 finishes this year. Today his finish does not reflect how good he or the car was. Poor strategy by the CC in the first stage hurt them. With that said. It’s a rookie cup driver, with a rookie cup crew chief, racing a car (the 35 car for 23XI) that didn’t exist before this season. So it’s not like there is really an experienced veteran or any previous foundation for them to fall back on. As the season goes on, they will get better. Also, Heim had Booty Barker as crew chief, who has quite a bit of cup experience as crew chief.”

Herbst is finding his feet with the new environment, new car and a new team. Not to forget, he races against the top drivers on a weekly basis, and so far, he’s managed to do well. In fact, he did act as a real troublemaker to Alex Bowman during the Kansas race as he intentionally stalled his progress. This is his rookie year; if anything, he is competing against the likes of Shane van Gisbergen and not a part-time racer.

We have seen young drivers go overboard with their antics on the racetrack. Remember, Carson Hocevar became public enemy No. 1 at Atlanta earlier this year, and he also riled up Ryan Preece at Texas. With the way he’s racing his rivals, there’s going to be payback. But, we haven’t seen Herbst do anything like this so far, and this was highlighted by one fan. “Riley hasn’t been completely sh– this year. Yes, Corey is more talented, but Riley hasn’t done anything stupid.”

Even when some fans brought up the conversation about his father cutting the checks for him to compete at the Cup level, the sentiment didn’t change. In fact, parallels were drawn between Chase Elliott and his early years, and how he was able to progress. For those unaware, his first win came after two years, that too driving a Hendrick Motorsports car. “And literally the only reason Chase Elliott was in a car was because if his dad cutting checks every year, he never had to worry about losing a ride and got to develop properly because of that, what’s the point? Same can be said for half or more of the field at this point.”

What do you feel about Riley Herbst and his comparisons with Corey Heim? Share your opinions in the comments.