It had been rumored all offseason, and now it is official: 2025 NASCAR Truck Series champion and 23XI Racing development driver Corey Heim is indeed set to run a part-time schedule with 23XI Racing at the Cup level for the second consecutive season, beginning with the 2026 season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in mid-February.
Heim, who has never before attempted to qualify for the "Great American Race", is set to pilot the Robinhood-sponsored No. 67 Toyota at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval.
The No. 67 Toyota is one of nine non-chartered (open) cars expected to be on the entry list for this 200-lap race, though with Jimmie Johnson's No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota locked in via the Open Exemption Provisional, thus ensuring a 41-car field rather than a 40-car field, the No. 67 is set to be one of eight battling for the four open spots.
Of those four open spots, two are set to be awarded based on speeds in the single-car qualifying session, and the other two are set to be awarded based on the results of the two 60-lap America 250 Florida Duel races.
23XI Racing adds a challenge for other Daytona 500 open teams
And the confirmation of 23XI Racing and Heim makes life much more difficult for the other seven trying to lock up one of those spots.
For one, five of the eight open cars battling for these spots are set to be fielded by part-time teams.
JR Motorsports made it into the race a year ago with Justin Allgaier behind the wheel of the No. 40 Chevrolet, but that remains their only Cup Series start in team history, making them by far the most inexperienced team on the entry list. Can Allgaier get in for the second year in a row?
NY Racing Team have not gotten into the race since 2022, when the late Greg Biffle was behind the wheel of the No. 44 Chevrolet. J.J. Yeley has gone 0-for-2 since 2024. Is the third time the charm?
Beard Motorsports missed the race a year ago with Anthony Alfredo behind the wheel of the No. 62 Chevrolet, and he is back again in 2026. Will it produce a different result?
Garage 66 have made six unsuccessful Daytona 500 qualifying attempts since their most recent successful entry in 2020 with Timmy Hill, and with five different drivers (six if you count 2025's NASCAR-enforced late driver change). Can Casey Mears end the drought in the No. 66 Ford?
And finally, Live Fast Motorsports have only attempted the race twice as an open team after selling their charter following the 2023 season, and on both occasions, team owner B.J. McLeod has failed to qualify the No. 78 Chevrolet. Will the third time be the charm for him?
Aside from 23XI Racing, the only other full-time teams planning to expand for this race are Front Row Motorsports and RFK Racing. While RFK Racing's Corey LaJoie would appear to be the safest bet to get in, given his and the team's history at Daytona, Chandler Smith is no sure thing for Front Row Motorsports either; he is 0-for-2 in his first two Daytona 500 qualifying attempts with two different teams.
Of course, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves in assuming that Heim will qualify, even if he is one of the favorites.
Just look at July's race at the Chicago Street Course, when fans had him penciled in as a lock, only for Katherine Legge and Live Fast Motorsports to bump him out of the field, making him the first driver to fail to qualify for a Cup race other than the Daytona 500 since 2018.
But with the speed 23XI Racing generally have, and with the lessons learned from that humbling experience, it's certainly hard to imagine history repeating itself at the "World Center of Racing".
And for that reason, the eight-car battle for four spots could very well turn into a seven-car battle for three.
Fox Sports 1 is set to provide live coverage of the Daytona 500 single-car qualifying session at 8:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 11, as well as the two America 250 Florida Duel races at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 12. Fox is set to provide live coverage of the 68th annual Daytona 500 itself starting at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 15. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action!