Corey Heim has shocked the NASCAR world again, winning the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his 15th career start. Heim had never completed a lap at IMS before this weekend, but leaves as the winner of one of NASCAR’s crown-jewel races.
Earlier this year, Heim out-dueled 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick for his first Cup win at San Diego. At Indianapolis, Heim passed 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin before holding off Christopher Bell for victory.
Heim became the first driver since A.J. Foyt in 1965 to claim his first two Cup victories within his opening 15 starts. He’s also the youngest driver to win the Brickyard 400 since Jeff Gordon in 1994, and is also the first part-time driver to have a multi-win Cup season since Davey Allison and Tim Richmond in 1987.
“Yeah, that was a damn handful,” said Heim. “I was hanging on for dear life once the shade went down and the pace picked up. My car got really loose. And I had never really been in a lot of clean air throughout the day, so that was the hardest I’ve ever fought in my life to just make sure I focused on exits and kept them in dirty air.
“I’m pretty out of breath. That was a workout. It was a dream come true. Winning at the Brickyard. That’s unbelievable. Thank you so much, fans, for coming out here.
“Caught a break early with the pit cycle. And just executed all day. Made no mistakes. My team, 23XI did a fantastic job with my Field & Stream Camry. First race with Field & Stream too, that’s awesome. First race, first win, so we hope we can keep it going.”
Bell finished second, just three tenths behind Heim at the checkered flag. Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.
Brad Keselowski, Josh Berry, Ryan Preece, Carson Hocevar, and Tyler Reddick filled out the remainder of the top ten.
Stage 1
Hocevar led from pole and quickly opened a 2.5-second advantage. Austin Dillon was the first to pit after rapidly dropping through the field, worried about a tire issue. His brother Ty Dillon got a blend line violation soon after that, prompting teams to remind their drivers about the unique pit exit procedure at IMS.
Hocevar pitted from the lead at the end of Lap 32, giving Suarez the top spot, but he immediately came under attack from Reddick. Suarez resisted the challenge, and came down pit road the following lap with a big lockup.
Larson and Gibbs both pitted earlier than Hocevar, and successfully pulled off the undercut.
Hamlin and over half the field ran the first stint long, with most waiting until ten laps to go to come down pit road.
Gragson doored Zilisch in frustration under caution after making heavy contact with the Trackhouse driver shortly before the yellow.
Another Trackhouse driver had some drama under this caution, as Van Gisbergen stopped his car in the grass while he took his steering wheel off and adjusted it. He lost little time during the brief but unusual stoppage.
The stage ended in a one-lap dash, with Gibbs claiming the Stage 1 win over Heim, McDowell, Hocevar, Byron, Hamlin, Suarez, Briscoe, Buescher, and Reddick.
Stage 2
Pit road was fairly empty during the stage break, and on the restart, Gibbs held the lead with McDowell, Heim, and Hocevar following.
Early in the stage, Chase Elliott hit the wall after contact from Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and had to pit under green with a flat tire. Eventually, Elliott went behind the wall for repairs.
About halfway through the stage, Gibbs pitted from the lead. Hocevar followed him in but emerged from pit road directly behind new leader Heim, albeit one lap down. Trapped a lap down, he aggressively tried to unlap himself, only for Heim to block him at every opportunity.
When Heim later headed for pit road, Hocevar pulled alongside and expressed his displeasure with a hand gesture.
The next caution was for Daniel Dye, who crashed into the wall with a flat tire. The caution ended the stage, handing Ross Chastain the Stage 2 victory as he ran low on fuel.
Chastain won Stage 2 ahead of Gilliland, Gibbs, Hamlin, Heim, Hocevar, Preece, McDowell, Nemechek, and Suarez.
Stage 3
While Chastain and Gilliland pitted during the stage break, Gibbs and Hamlin were now on the front row.
Gibbs remained ahead until a debris caution with 45 laps remaining brought the field to pit road near the edge of the fuel window.
The entire field poured down pit road, with Heim taking the lead off pit road. Several drivers opted for a two-tire call, shuffling the order. Wallace endured a chaotic stop in which he struck members of his pit crew, although none appeared seriously hurt.
On the restart, Logano looked to the inside of Heim, thinking about a three-wide move for the lead before backing out. However, that was enough for Hamlin to take the lead away.
Moments later, Blaney went spinning after contact from Nemechek, who attempted to go up the middle in a three-wide move but the door closed before he got there.
Zilisch, Herbst, Hill, Mears, and Allmendinger were also collected in the ensuing melee. Blaney had damage, but soldiered on as he was battling Gilliland for the $1 million prize in the In-Season Challenge.
On the final restart with 34 laps remaining, Hamlin received little drafting help and Heim reclaimed the lead. Hamlin attempted to dive under Heim in the short chute between Turn 1 and 2, but Heim slammed the door.
Hamlin lost all momentum and slipped back to fifth, leaving Heim in control of the race. Heim spent the rest of the race being shadowed by Bell, trying his best to keep his clearly loose No. 67 Toyota under control. Logano also closed in from third, but they never really could get a big enough Neither Bell nor Logano could generate a strong enough run to challenge Heim.
As Heim won the race, Gilliland collected the $1 million In-Season Challenge prize, finishing 24th as a wounded Blaney finished 26th — just six tenths behind.
RACE
All Stats
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