Heim earns first NASCAR Cup win in wild race at Naval Base Coronado

23XI Racing driver Corey Heim. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Corey Heim earns first NASCAR Cup win in wild race at Naval Base Coronado

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 21, 2026 8:34 PM ET

23XI Racing driver Corey Heim (67) during the Anduril 250 at San Diego Street Course. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

As if there was any doubt about how good Corey Heim is, the defending NASCAR Truck Series champion earned his first career Cup Series win Sunday at Naval Base Coronado in his 13th start.

Heim got around race leader, 23XI Racing teammate and Cup Series points leader Tyler Reddick with three laps to go after Reddick made a mistake entering turn 2. Reddick was unable to chase Heim back down and had a flat left-front tire with two laps to go, relegating him to a 25th-place finish.

Despite making contact with the wall after he passed Reddick, Heim was able to hold on to the lead.

Heim is running a part-time Cup Series schedule with 23XI in 2026 before going full-time with the team in 2027. The 23-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, already won three Truck Series races in 2026.

"I'm speechless," Heim told Prime Video. "Hit the wall a couple times, maybe knocked some good into the car. I feel like for a while there [Reddick] was playing with me. Five to go came, kinda time to put some pressure on him. A lot of respect for him, though. Great teammate. Crazy. It feels like a dream. This is insane."

COREY HEIM TO THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/gD61uao21u
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 22, 2026

The victory is the sixth of the season for 23XI.

Reddick and Heim drove away from the rest of the field after Heim spun race leader Carson Hocevar shortly after the final restart.

Bubba Wallace finished runner-up after a fierce battle with Kyle Larson, who finished third. Zane Smith and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top five, with Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Riley Herbst, Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell completing the top 10.

Notable results

Other notable finishers include Chase Elliott in 12th, Denny Hamlin 14th, Hocevar in 19th, Kevin Magnussen in 27th and Jimmie Johnson in 28th.

Polesitter Shane van Gisbergen and leaders Connor Zilisch and Austin Hill were taken out in a Lap 31 crash that necessitated a red flag for wall repair.

Hill, Zilisch and van Gisbergen finished 36th, 37th and 38th, respectively. Christopher Bell finished last (39th) after exiting his car early due to a fractured wrist suffered in a June 7 crash at Michigan. Brent Crews took over Bell's car but was knocked out of the race due to an engine failure.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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