Latest news with #CoryHeim
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3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NASCAR Driver Reveals He Idolized Denny Hamlin Ahead of Veteran's 700th Start
Denny Hamlin is set to hit 700 Cup Series starts this weekend at Nashville. And while that puts him in rare elite company, one of the best tributes might've already come from inside his own camp. Cory Heim, one of the rising stars and development driver for Hamlin's 23XI Racing, didn't hold back when talking about what his boss meant to him growing up. Advertisement 'A lot of people know that growing up, Denny was my idol,' said Heim. 'It means the world to have grown up idolizing him. Never knowing if I would make it to this level. But here I am and I've got him as one of my best supporters so far.' Also Read:: Ranking Ross Chastain's Coca-Cola 600 Comeback in NASCAR History Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images It's a full circle moment that shows just how long Hamlin's been at the top level of the sport. And also how big his impact's been on the next wave of talent. While the 700 number puts him alongside names like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, what stands out more than just longevity is what Hamlin's done beyond the driver's seat. Advertisement Through 23XI, he's given younger guys like Heim and Tyler Reddick a shot and left his mark on more than just stat sheets. '. It's great to have someone like that in that role that owns the team. Someone you raced against that me and Bubba can also lean on.' Teammates outside his own team have noticed, too. Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell called Hamlin a pillar of Toyota's success in NASCAR. Hamlin's been open about how tough the road was to get here and the sacrifices were real. That hustle eventually turned into 700 Cup starts. With 56 race wins, three Daytona 500 and now, a driver-development pipeline under his own roof. Denny Hamlin is still chasing that first Cup title. But when the green flag drops in Nashville, he'll already have something a trophy can't buy: respect and admiration from the next generation. Also Read:: Jimmie Johnson joins hollywood agency, follows Tom Brady's playbook to build post-racing empire
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7 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Corey Heim carries dominant momentum into Nashville Truck race
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is on race five of a season-high stretch of six consecutive race weekends with Friday night's stop at Nashville Superspeedway for the Rackley Roofing 200 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Championship frontrunner Cory Heim — who will be making his third NASCAR Cup Series start for 23XI Racing on Sunday night — collected his fourth Truck series trophy of the season with a dominant performance last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, extending his lead atop the standings to 100 points heading into Friday night's race. The driver of the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota has twice as many wins (four) and has led three times as many laps (754) as anyone else and only finished outside the top 10 twice in the 11 races to date this year — all series best statistics. Advertisement RELATED: Nashville schedule | Truck standings Heim, however, has never won at Nashville. He has two top-five finishes in three starts, crashing out in his Nashville debut in 2022. He was a career-best third place last year. Take the huge frontrunner Heim out of it, and the standings are a lot closer among the other title contenders. Front Row Motorsports' Chandler Smith, a two-race winner, is second to Heim but holds only a 10-point advantage over McAnally-Hilgemann Racing's Daniel Hemric and a 29-point cushion over Hemric's teammate Tyler Ankrum. No current full-time drivers have ever won on the 1.33-mile Nashville oval. Advertisement Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champ Kyle Busch — who won both the 2010 and 2011 Nashville Truck races from pole position — will be making one of his limited season starts Friday, driving the No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Christian Eckes, who now races full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, led all 150 laps en route to the trophy last year in one of the most dominating showings in years. Practice is at 4:05 p.m. ET Friday followed immediately by Kennametal Pole Qualifying at 5:10 p.m. ET — both sessions airing live on FS1. Stewart Friesen won pole position last year and finished 11th. It's been three years since a polesitter also won the race — Ryan Preece last doing so in 2022.
