One piece of transparency that came out of the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports v NASCAR antitrust lawsuit is how much Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan wanted to sign Corey Heim as a long-term building block of their race team.
Through the discovery process, it was revealed that Hamlin told Jordan that they needed to sign Heim to a full-time contract before anyone else did. In response, Jordan said ‘lock him up,’ and did just that for the 2027 season.
Heim will drive next season what is currently the No. 35 with incumbent Riley Herbst moving on and heavily rumored to the newly expanded Legacy Motor Club ride. For 23XI, Heim adds to a foundation that includes current championship leader Tyler Reddick and reigning Brickyard 400 winner Bubba Wallace.
In other words, when Hamlin believes there is a foundational piece available, he and Air Jordan jump on it.
“For our company, generational drivers only come by every now and then,” Hamlin said during a press conference on Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway. “And I firmly believe that we have one here.”
Hamlin says he has had this conviction since 2023.
“It was just his race craft in general,” Hamlin said. “It wasn’t speed or finishes, anything like that, but very similar to Tyler (Reddick) in that when his vehicle is in a certain position, a vulnerable position, he still finds a way to get out of it and make a move whoever he is trying to pass.
“I know moves that are difficult to make and the great ones find ways to make them and make it look easy when I know it’s not.”
So, what’s taken so long?
When Hamlin first expressed his interest in Heim, they were already maxed out with two charters for Wallace and Reddick. They added a third charter only because the funding became available through Riley Herbst.
23XI has since been able to give Heim a robust schedule alongside his full-time Truck Series duties at Tricon. It’s kept Heim busy, while learning the Cup Series, so he would be plug-and-play as soon as the seat became available.
But it did require a degree of patience.
“I’ve always gone with my gut,” Heim said. “I’ve always tried to prioritize surrounding myself with good people. That’s important in this sport — people that believe in you and people that want you to succeed as well as themselves.”
Heim said there was never a reason to leave Toyota because they have always worked in the best interest of his career.
“When I signed with 23XI Racing, it was the same feeling,” he added. “I was preparing for my first race here, at Nashville, two years ago and I felt like they wanted me to succeed and put me in the position to do so.
“For me, it just made no sense to go anywhere else. Between Toyota and 23XI Racing, I feel at home and everyone wants everyone to succeed. Everyone is lifting each other up. Even on the bad days, you take that on the chin and move on so I do feel like I’m in a good spot for sure.”
And Hamlin appreciates that patience and has so much conviction that Heim can match what his teammates are currently doing in leading the championship and winning races.
“He was extremely, extremely patient,” Hamlin said. “Which, in my mind, shows the maturity he has. It’s well beyond his age. I think he shows it on the race track and obviously off the race track, making the decision that he was going to go with us long-term, even if he had to wait a little bit.
“We certainly appreciate that, and it’s similar to what I saw in Tyler Reddick, and with both guys figure out whatever it took to make it work.”
Hamlin says the patience everyone showed is going to work out.
The press release says Heim will take over the No. 35 but Hamlin also suggested that could change. When told what the press release said, Hamlin expressed surprise, but also he would trust whatever it says.
However, they did discuss other numbers, including 25, which Hendrick Motorsports still owns the rights to.
“There’s a handful of numbers I had when I was younger that I liked,” Heim said. “I’ve always liked 11 but that’s pretty licked up too but we did bounce some ideas back and forth.”
Apparently, Reddick wants 11 when Hamlin retires, should Joe Gibbs Racing part with the number but Hamlin isn’t sure about that either. Regardless, Heim plans to be at 23XI for a long time and having a consistent number to be his identity was an important element of that decision.
“I want to keep that number for a long time, and I want it to count,” Heim said. “So that was more of a brainstorming exercise, not anything I felt strongly about one way or the other, but just having some ideas.”
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