Corey Heim earns shock first Cup win after slamming doors with Reddick in San Diego

It was 23XI vs. 23XI at Naval Base Coronado on Sunday, as championship leader Tyler Reddick battled part-time teammate Corey Heim in the closing laps.

As they battled side-by-side for the lead, they slammed doors and Heim bounced off the wall, before driving off with the win. Reddick suffered a flat tire soon after, and limped home to a 25th-place finish. He now holds just a eight-point lead over Denny Hamlin in the championship.

For the 23-year-old Heim, this first-career victory comes in just his 13th career start, and his sixth of the 2026 season. He was led by crew chief Bootie Barker atop the pit box for the No. 67 Toyota.

It was also a 1-2 finish for the Michael Jordan-owned team, with Bubba Wallace fighting back from two laps down to earn his best finish of the season.

Kyle Larson finished third, Zane Smith fourth, and AJ Allmendinger fifth. Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Riley Herbst, Ryan Blaney, and Michael McDowell filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Making his NASCAR Cup debut, ex-Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen set the fastest lap near the end of the race, and finished 27th.

Stages 1 and 2

Van Gisbergen led the race from pole position, but as drivers managed the tires, Blaney took control and drove off with the lead.

The first incident was for A. Dillon, who went for a spin. Blaney pitted from the lead halfway through the stage, and several drivers followed suit.

Wallace led for a pit before Van Gisbergen passed him, and they were among a group trying to go longer, saving a set of tires.

However, that strategy bit them as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. stalled on track, triggering the first full-course yellow of the race. During the caution, Christopher Bell climbed out of the car, as he was driving injured and planned to hand over control to 18-year-old relief driver Brent Crews.

Blaney restarted back in eighth on fresh tires, and quickly cut through the field, taking the lead with plenty of time left in the stage.

Fading on older tires, SVG and Wallace decided to flip the stage and pit early, bringing several others with them.

However, 23XI Racing failed to get the right-front secured, and it came off, forcing a full-course caution. Wallace was penalized two laps, and two crew members will be suspended later in the week.

Wallace was irate as the stage ended under caution. Blaney won Stage 1.

For the start of Stage 2, a new group of cars cycled to the front, with Connor Zilisch leading Preece. As SVG tried to make his way back through the field, he made contact with Buescher, sending him spinning. The pack narrowly avoided a pileup, and Buescher only lost a couple of spots after a full 360-degree spin.

The next caution was for Brent Crews, as the engine detonated on the No. 20 JGR Toyota, meaning Bell will earn just one point.

As the race continued, the pivotal moment was a Lap 32 restart as Hill missed the entry to Turn 1 while side-by-side for the lead with Zilisch. They pounded the outside wall, destroying both cars, as well as SVG, who was right behind them. Several other cars piled in, suffering varying levels of damage, but the leading Red Bull Chevrolets were unable to continue.

After a brief red-flag for wall repairs, Herbst was leading on the restart, only to get passed by Smith soon after.

There were several minor incidents throughout the pack, including one with Magnussen getting into Noah Gragson, who spun into the wall and was unable to finish the race.

Once again, several drivers decided to flip the stage, putting Herbst back in control. However, he was passed by Preece, who won Stage 2.

Stage 3

Pitlane during a caution flag

Photo by: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Buescher took the lead at the start of the final stage, and the next caution was for debris on track. Berry and Custer had a significant incident on the restart, so that was likely the source of it.

As the race resumed, more drama unfolded in the pack, including a collision between A. Dillon and Jones that spent both spinning, Byron spent several laps on pit road for repairs after hitting the wall. Elliott also went for a spin, and Brad Keselowski broke a wheel, ending his day.

But through it all, the race remained green. Larson took control of the race, and while a lot of cars pitted with around 25 laps to go in the race, Larson and a group of about a dozen cars went far longer.

With 20 to go, Larson was now leading Heim by about two seconds, and neither had made their final stop just yet. Heim then rapidly erased that lead margin, and was right behind Larson as they both pitted with 16 laps to go.

Soon after, Stenhouse pulled off track with an issue, and there was clearly fluid all over the track. The caution flew moments after Hocevar, Reddick, Wallace, and Chastain made it onto pit road.

Being caught out by the yellow on older tires, Buescher gave up the lead under caution, pitting for fresh tires. Several drivers followed him, knowing they stood little chance against those who fell on the right side of that yellow.

Hocevar was now in the lead, sharing the front row with Larson. He held the top spot for less than a lap, as Reddick passed them both. Entering the final chicane, Hocevar spun and collected Chastain, falling through the field while Chastain only lost a few spots.

At the front, Heim got alongside Reddick after a small mistake, and they ended up slamming doors, with Reddick pushing Heim into the wall. Realizing his error, Reddick lifted, and soon after blew a left-front tire.

Heim took the checkered flag a full ten seconds clear of Wallace, leading a 23XI 1-2 finish.

Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

We want your opinion!

– The Motorsport.com Team

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com