One of the hot rumors of NASCAR silly season has circulated around 23XI Racing and the future of the No. 35 Toyota. When the team expanded to three cars and signed Riley Herbst, the widely held belief was that it was merely a move made for sponsorship purposes and that Herbst would be a placeholder for Corey Heim.
Heim is currently in his third full season for Toyota's Tricon Garage in the Truck Series, and he is both the points leader and the wins leader. He signed with 23XI Racing as a development driver before the season, and in his first Cup Series start of the year at Kansas Speedway last month, he scored the team's highest finish.
But all signs point to Herbst returning for at least one more year, even with just five top 20 finishes (one in the last 12 races) and nothing higher than a 14th place result through the first 17 races of the year.
With Heim set to remain tied to 23XI Racing, it appears like a low risk move on the surface, at least in the long-term. Obviously the team can't get too complacent; we've already seen Toyota lose top-tier drivers over the years, such as William Byron, after not making timely promotions.
But we're going to assume that Heim does still remain the team's driver of the future.
I know Michael Jordan infamously stated he doesn't sign checks for losers when the team's decision to sign Bubba Wallace was confirmed a few years ago. And this is not to say that Herbst is a "loser", but if Jordan is content with a driver being 35th place in points ahead of only Rick Ware Racing's entry for Cody Ware for another year, more power to him.
Herbst did improve during his five-year stint in the Xfinity Series, so perhaps he can become a late bloomer in Cup as well, even if it does seem like Heim's promotion is inevitable at some point in the future.
However, another driver rumor pertaining to another team that just expanded from two to three cars has not cooled off. And the driver on the hot seat might not be getting another year.
Connor Zilisch linked to Trackhouse promotion for 2026
Daniel Suarez is in a contract year at Trackhouse Racing, and with 18-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch having proven in the Xfinity Series that he is capable of winning on both road courses and ovals, his promotion to the Cup level feels inevitable.
Zilisch has been a Trackhouse Racing development driver since last year, and after winning on Xfinity Series debut with JR Motorsports last year, he is now in his first season as a full-time driver.
Having already shown what he can do, pushing off his arrival to the Cup Series doesn't make much sense for the Justin Marks-owned team, especially as Suarez continues to struggle.
Suarez sits in 27th place in the point standings, and while he is higher than teammate Shane van Gisbergen, van Gisbergen was brought to the team for one reason: to lock up a top 16 finish in the owner standings with a regular season road course win. Despite sitting 31st in total points, he recently did that at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Suarez, on the other hand, has not made much progress since joining the team in 2021, even with two wins to his name. He hasn't finished higher than ninth place in the 12 most recent races, and he hasn't finished higher than 14th in the six most recent.
It's hard to imagine that Trackhouse Racing's original driver has his contract extended for another year, unless he goes on a random tear that absolutely nobody expects.
His only hope may be for Trackhouse Racing to push off Zilisch's promotion under the premise of not rushing him. But at this point, it's hard to argue that he isn't ready to be brought up. You'd be hard-pressed to find somebody who thinks he's being rushed if he is named Suarez's replacement, even as soon as 2026.
While Heim's promotion may have to wait until 2027 at the earliest, thus keeping Herbst in a competitive seat that many feel is being "wasted", Zilisch's outlook leaves Suarez in a much more precarious situation.