Corey Heim just pulled off his second career victory, taking the Brickyard 400 after dicing his way to the lead on a late restart with just 35 laps left. This dude, running a part-time schedule with 23XI Racing, has only eight starts this year, and already he’s got two massive wins this summer: the road course at Naval Base Coronado and now the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis. He held off the best of the best, and when he finally exited his car on the TNT telecast, he was gassed, saying, “I’m pretty out of breath. That was a workout. It was a dream come true. Winning at the Brickyard? That’s unbelievable.” Believe it, buddy, because you earned it!
The Restart That Shook the Brickyard
That final restart was pure chaos and exactly what Heim needed. He got a crucial push from Joey Logano to blast into the lead while the powerhouse trio of Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe totally fumbled their coordination. Bell told reporters, “Pushing is the name of the game, and Briscoe let me know he was going to push me, but he got on me way early, and then it was pushing me into Denny , and then Denny is on the binders trying to not get a penalty. The three of us just did not execute the restart very well.” It cost Hamlin four spots, dropping him to sixth, though Bell managed to snatch second. From there, Heim just had to throw a block on Hamlin and then hold off Bell, Logano, Briscoe, and Hamlin. He did it all, plain and simple. Heim even admitted Hamlin “has every right to be a little bit frustrated with me. He probably would have done the same thing.” Talk about cold-blooded!
Hamlin Left Wondering What If
Christopher Bell was dead on: Denny Hamlin was not pleased, not one bit. Hamlin didn’t mince words in his TNT interview, putting the blame squarely on his teammates: “It’s really more on us and the 20 [of Bell] and the 19 [of Briscoe] of just not orchestrating good pushes there. We came detached at the wrong time.” You gotta feel for the guy, watching a win slip away like that. Especially since he’s the co-owner of 23XI Racing, which has now won back-to-back Brickyard 400s with Heim and Bubba Wallace last year. Hamlin summed it up perfectly: “That’s how you lose them. 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 [Heim] the restart before. Just came back the other way around.” Ouch, full circle heartbreak.
Larson’s Rough Ride at Indy
Meanwhile, Kyle Larson’s day was over way too soon. He looked like he was about to take control of the race early on, but BAM! A left rear tire blew out on Lap 44, just as he was making his move for the lead. The Hendrick Motorsports driver had zero warning, and it was another brutal exit at a track that’s been more heartache than glory for him lately, outside of his 2024 Brickyard 400 win. After a trip to the medical center, Larson told reporters, “It’s obviously disappointing. You go from 10th to the lead on a good start and then race strategy , we set ourselves up well to gain a lot of points there and also set ourselves up to maintain.” What a bummer of an end to what looked like a promising run for him.
Corey Heim, a part-time dude with two huge wins under his belt this summer, has made his mark. What’s next for him? Does this push him towards a full-time ride? The NASCAR world is watching to see what this rising star does next.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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