As 23XI Racing development driver Corey Heim continues to prepare to make his full-time move to the NASCAR Cup Series as Riley Herbst's replacement alongside Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick next year, he has two more races remaining on his Cup schedule for 2026.
Heim has made 10 starts so far this year, one season after making four, and he's won twice, doing so on Naval Base Coronado in June before adding a Brickyard 400 win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July to become the first driver since A.J. Foyt in 1965 to win twice in the first 15 starts of his Cup Series career.
Heim competed in back-to-back races at Daytona International Speedway and Darlington Raceway over the past two weekends, but following his 19th place finish at Darlington, which came after he was forced to overcome a pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tire, he will not compete at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway this weekend.
Corey Heim not competing in NASCAR Cup race at Gateway
Heim's two remaining scheduled Cup Series starts for the 2026 season include the October race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is set to be the Charlotte oval's first postseason race since 2017, and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. Homestead-Miami hasn't hosted the championship race since 2019.
Heim's points per race average this season is 26.7, even though he is not personally points eligible in the Cup Series since he earns points through his part-time Craftsman Truck Series ride with Tricon Garage. That 26.7 mark is still good enough for 10th-best in the Cup Series.
He has won three of his seven Truck Series starts so far this year as well, one year after winning the championship with 12 wins in 25 races. He is set to run two more Truck races this year behind the wheel of the No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota at Talladega Superspeedway in October and Homestead-Miami in November.
Gateway is not on this year's Truck Series schedule, and thus the series is off this weekend. Heim made two Truck Series starts at the four-turn, 1.25-mile (2.012-kilometer) Madison, Illinois oval in the series back in 2022 and 2024 and won both. He missed the 2023 race due to illness.
Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 Cup Series postseason race is set to be shown live on USA Network from World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.
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