Corey Heim admits fault, apologizes to Brad Keselowski for wreck at Nashville

Corey Heim has shown immense promise throughout his NASCAR career, but his second Cup Series start of the season left a bit to be desired. He found himself out of the race early in Nashville, following an incident where he got into Brad Keselowski and ended up spinning out.

The young wheelman thought he was clear, but he came up and damaged Keselowski’s car, ruining his own evening in the process. After the dust settled on his rough evening, Heim spoke about the incident with the media, making sure to apologize to the RFK Racing driver/owner, admitting his fault in the matter.

“I’m pretty sure I just kind of cleared myself across the nose of (Brad Keselowski). A little bit too desperate,” Heim said after the race, via NBC Sports. “We were moving forward really quick and I had a lot of confidence in my Camry and thought I could clear him by the time I got to the wall, and just used too much racetrack, so sorry to those guys. It looks like I kind of ruined his day, too, and never want to do that.

“Just can’t say enough about the speed we had. I think if we didn’t start in 33rd, we could have been battling in the top 10. A lot of positives, just screwed it up on my part. Huge thank you to 23XI, Toyota. Definitely had a lot of fun, and looking forward to doing again.”

It’s certainly commendable the way Heim handled the situation. Still, it was a shame to see his night end so early, as Cup Series starts are rare for him. While he seems ready for a full-time ride, he has less sponsorship than other drivers, and it’s hampered his ability to move up into the top series in the sport.

What does the future hold for Corey Heim in NASCAR?

As far as prospects for the Cup Series go, Corey Heim is one of the best, and certainly the most promising wheelman in the Truck Series. On a consistent basis, he puts up more laps led, more points, and more wins than anyone else. And that’s with the fact that he has left more than a few wins on the board.

To put it into perspective, you have to look at Heim’s laps led stat. 812 laps through 12 races, that is a record for the first 12 races of the season. The driver with the second-most laps led? Chandler Smith with 188.

Time will tell what the future holds. He seems destined for a ride at 23XI Racing, but which one? Nobody seems to know. Either way, the future is bright for Corey Heim, even if it’s unwritten at the moment.

— On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this article.