Sunday’s Anduril 250 NASCAR Cup Series race on Naval Base Coronado was historic on many accounts as the first premier series race on an active military base. It also produced a first-time winner, as part-time driver Corey Heim won in just his 13th career start.
Heim has long been regarded as one of the hottest prospects in the entire sport and was deservingly signed as a full-time driver with 23XI Racing beginning next season. However, no one expected him to win this soon, which speaks to the decision of 23XI Racing co-owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan to bring him on board when they did.
Until the epic battle in the closing laps at Coronado between Heim and Tyler Reddick, Hamlin had won three consecutive races, and he had turned what appeared to be a runaway in points into one that is far from over.Â
That was just Hamlin the driver. When you factor in the five wins that Reddick had in his historic start to the season and the breakthrough win from Heim on Sunday, Hamlin is still winning even when he loses as a driver.
Denny Hamlin just keeps finding ways to win
As a driver, Hamlin is arguably the most dangerous he has ever been as he is looking to finally win that elusive Cup Series championship. As he has stated numerous times, he shows up expecting to win any time the series visits an oval.
Including his All-Star Race win at Dover Motor Speedway, Hamlin has won four of the five most recent oval races, and he was in position to win the Coca-Cola 600 before settling for third in a rain-shortened finish. He has still won four consecutive full-length oval races if you include the All-Star Race. He hasn't failed to do so since early May.
While he admitted that he needs to improve on restarts, two of Hamlin's three consecutive wins came from the back. That included his win at Nashville Superspeedway, when he put NASCAR on notice after overcoming a start violation and putting together a strong late restart to outlast teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.
Hamlin the driver was only 14th on Sunday, which should come as no surprise, given his history on road and street courses. With that said, it was still a solid, mistake-free day that helped him trim Reddick's points lead to just eight after a flat left front tire with two laps to go dropped the 23XI Racing driver to 25th.
But it wasn't just the points battle that Hamlin won on Sunday.
That alone speaks to Hamlin's winning ways and consistency as a driver, but the owner has been just as impressive. Reddick already had his five wins and has led the point standings since the beginning of the season, but the fact that Heim already has a win as a part-time driver highlights the home run hire the organization made when they signed him full-time.
Not only is Heim, the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series champion, a superstar in the making, but the entire 23XI Racing group was competitive on Sunday. Bubba Wallace, who has been facing a familiar harsh reality lately after falling to as low as 15th in points, came back from two laps down to finish a career-best second on a non-oval.
Wallace had four finishes outside the top 20 in the five most recent races coming into San Diego, but Sunday showed what the No. 23 team is capable of if it can put a full race together. Even Riley Herbst, who currently sits 24th in points, equaled his best finish of the season in eighth and had a shot at a top five result until he lost a few spots late.
That is the same No. 35 Toyota that Heim is set to inherit next season, further highlighting the bright future that continues to exist for the organization. For Hamlin, who has a combined 11 wins this season when you factor in his All-Star win and the six wins from 23XI Racing, it is just a reminder of how he always seems to find himself at the front, one way or another.
Entering the unprecedented race on Naval Base Coronado, which kicked off a two-week stretch of road and street course racing leading up to this coming Sunday's race at Sonoma Raceway, it looked like a prime opportunity for the field to get a leg up on Hamlin. Instead, he finds himself closer to the points lead as a driver and feeling really good about his future as an owner after Heim's breakthrough win.
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