2025 NASCAR Truck Series champion. Two wins in four starts in the ongoing Truck Series season. It’s fair to say Corey Heim has routinely dominated the Truck Series. Naturally, when a driver performs that well in NASCAR’s lower ranks, it’s reasonable to expect him to earn a full-time Cup Series ride. But then 2026 happened, and Heim found himself competing only in a part-time capacity. As the saying goes, God has a plan. In this case, though, so did Denny Hamlin.

“That was part of the plan all along—to have him sit on the sidelines and learn. Even when he is not driving, he is at the racetrack learning. There, digesting all the information,” Hamlin said during his appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “That way, when he goes full time, he is 100% ready to go and has enough track time at various racetracks where there is no learning curve.

“You know I made sure that we aligned him, that he was the test driver for the Toyota Wheelforce car, and so he’s got more track time than what people see.”

Earlier, during the press conference before the Cup race at Nashville, Corey Heim had also repeated similar ideas about his current season’s preparation. According to Heim, his 2026 schedule was specifically crafted to help him understand the Cup Series better. He is not only competing in the Cup Series and the Truck Series, but he is also spending significant time in Toyota’s simulator, gaining a deeper understanding of the car when he is away from the track.

In fact, even before he took on a larger NASCAR schedule, Heim worked as a simulator driver and reserve driver for 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club. That opportunity ultimately led him to his first Cup Series race in 2024 with Legacy Motor Club at Dover. Later that year, he also debuted his first race with 23XI Racing at Nashville.

So, it is clear that, besides winning the 2025 Truck Series championship, the 23-year-old put in a lot of work behind the scenes. So, why not give him the ride a year earlier? The answer is simple: patience is key to building a successful career in NASCAR. Moving from the Truck Series to the Cup Series is a huge leap, and one wrong move could put a driver’s career in jeopardy. Connor Zilisch and his performance in 2026 are perfect examples of that.

After Zilisch failed to live up to the hype created around him, the community is wondering if he actually needed more time and experience in the O’Reilly Series before he was promoted to Cup.

It is highly likely that Denny Hamlin wanted to avoid this mistake altogether. So, this year, he allowed Heim to run 12 Cup races in order to judge if the driver was ready to make his full-time debut. And had it not been for Heim’s talents and performances this year, he likely wouldn’t have gotten the call for 2027.

As announced by 23XI Racing, Heim will race full-time in the 2027 Cup Series season and will drive the No. 35 car. He will replace Riley Herbst, who has impressed in his second full-time Cup Series campaign. Now, Denny Hamlin, the co-owner of the team Heim drives for, can’t help but hype him up.

“Wild prediction, but I think he is going to be a Chase driver right off the bat. I think that I saw it again this weekend; he outran me, out-restarted me, and had a car very capable of running the top 3 to 4. And you know, he’s only got a handful of Cup starts. So you know, you still have quite a few races left this year to continue to build that notebook.“

In Nashville, Heim was able to perform much better than Hamlin in the initial stage and was looking forward to a good race until he made contact with Todd Gilliland in the second stage. He ultimately finished the race in 25th place.

With his best Cup Series finish of 15th at Kansas this season, Heim is learning the dynamics of the series and will undoubtedly enter 2027 as one of the favorites. But what does his schedule look like for the rest of the season?

What is next on Corey Heim’s Cup schedule?

Heim has run five races in the Cup Series this season. He will complete seven more races this season with 23XI Racing in the No. 67 car. The upcoming tracks that Heim will get to drive are:

• San Diego (June 21)
• Chicagoland Speedway (July 5)
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 26)
• Daytona International Speedway (August 29)
• Darlington Raceway (September 6)
• Charlotte Motor Speedway (October 11)
• Homestead-Miami Speedway (November 8)

These will be new experiences for Heim in the Cup Series. He has competed at only a few tracks, such as Kansas and Bristol, in previous years. San Diego will ultimately provide the road-course experience he needs to prepare for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Chicagoland Speedway is returning to the schedule after a long absence, and 23XI doesn’t want Heim to fall behind in learning the track.

The stage is set for Heim to enter the NASCAR Cup Series as a complete driver next year. Will he meet the hype?