When Erik Jones was involved in the horrific crash on lap 157 while trailing behind eventual race-winner Tyler Reddick at Talladega, fans of the #43 Legacy Motor Club car prayed for the best as he was checked out at the infield care center. Though Jones was soon released, he was later checked into a local hospital for further evaluation. Not long after, the NASCAR community got an update on the status of Jones’ health, and it wasn’t what they were expecting.

The 27-year-old released an update on X, revealing that Truck Series rookie and LMC’s reserve driver, Corey Heim, would be taking over duties of the #43 Camry XSE for the coming weekend at Dover Motor Speedway. As the Vice President stated, there may be a silver lining with Jimmie Johnson’s presence.

Can Legacy Motor Club’s veteran Ace help out the budding rookie at Dover?

At the start of the year, when LMC announced that 21-year-old Corey Heim would take on the role of reserve driver, fans weren’t expecting the #11 Toyota Tundra truck driver to make his way to the Cup Series so soon. That being said, Erik Jones‘ unfortunate incident at Talladega paved the way for the Marietta native’s NASCAR premier debut. However, Legacy Motor Club finds itself in a rather unsuitable position.

Although Corey Heim is quickly proving himself as a top contender in the Truck Series, his Cup debut may have been fast-tracked by the incident. Naturally, this adds additional pressure on the rookie with little experience under his belt. This prompted the Vice President of Racing Operations at LMC to share on SiriusXM’s NASCAR Radio; “We don’t want to have to use Corey, right? But the thing we have to do is prepare for anything. And Corey has been taking the opportunity to prepare himself.” 

For Joey Cohen, the prospect of putting a rookie into a Cup race at such short notice isn’t the greatest idea. But the presence of 11-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson eases that pressure. After all, no Cup driver in history has more wins at Dover than the LMC co-owner himself. Add to that John Hunter Nemchek’s helpful attitude, and Heim seems to be in safe hands. Reflecting on the same, Cohen believes Johnson will also play a key role in guiding Corey Heim on his debut.

The Vice President added, “You know, he’s not made real laps on the racetrack, but he’s certainly been in the system of what we’ve been doing these past four months of this year, so he’s got a lot of help around him, he’s got a teammate in John Hunter and that group in the #42, we’ve also got Jimmie at the race track, Jimmie is running at Dover, probably not anybody better to lean on at the racetrack than Jimmie Johnson when it comes to Dover.”

It’s safe to say that Legacy Motor Club insiders themselves feel that the challenge which lies in front of Corey Heim is a great one. Fortunately, Joey Cohen also highlighted the preparations that the 21-year-old rookie has been making for his glorious debut.

Is Corey Heim ready to make his Cup Series debut?

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For Corey Heim, Erik Jones’ crash has not just added the pressure of fending off some of his greatest NASCAR idols at Dover, but he will also be doing so in a special paint scheme paying homage to Richard Petty’s 200th win. And although some might think the stars are aligning a little too soon for the 21-year-old, Joey Cohen shared some insight into the rookie’s preparations so far.

Reflecting on Heim’s role in the LMC roster, Cohen stated on SiriusXM, “We strategically brought Corey in at the beginning of the year as part of our reserve driver program. Corey serves the function on our race team of, you know, he’s in the simulator twice a week for us whether that being at TRD or whether that being at our shop. He stays all race weekend for us so you’ll see him on the racetrack on Sunday.” 

Despite having commitments to the Tricon Garage for his full-time Truck seat, Heim has been wasting no time getting up to speed with the world of the Cup Series. As Cohen revealed Heim’s presence throughout the weekend, he also highlighted that Heim wasn’t just keen on getting into the Next Gen car, but understanding the team dynamics as well. Cohen concluded, “Even when he knows he’s not getting in the car, he’s sitting on the pit box and listening. He’s going up to the spotter stand and he’s going into places and learning and just soaking it all in.” 

Now that it’s safe to say that Corey Heim has made the most of the four months he’s had as the reserve driver for LMC, can the 21-year-old translate that knowledge onto the track at Dover Motor Speedway?