Heim focussed on current form, not potential Cup future

Kansas Speedway gets a double dose of Corey Heim this weekend.

The highly touted prospect in the Toyota camp will compete for his fourth Craftsman Truck Series victory in nine races Saturday afternoon and get another taste of Cup Series race Sunday afternoon. Heim is set to run multiple races with 23XI Racing this season, and Kansas kicks off his campaign in the No. 67 Robinhood entry. It’ll be his fourth career start in the series.

He qualified second for the Saturday’s Truck Series event. The 22-year-old is in his third full season of Truck Series competition, and the expectation is he won’t be there for much longer.

“I don’t really let that get to me too much,” Heim said of the belief he is Cup Series ready. “I just focus on the current opportunities that I have at hand. I definitely feel like I’m ready to make Cup starts – I don’t know if I’m ready to be a full-time Cup driver. That is what I’m learning as I go. I certainly feel like I am, but it is going out and proving that.

“Really happy with the opportunities that Toyota and 23XI have given me the past couple of years. I’m very happy with my No. 11 crew on the Truck side, and the No. 67 guys on the Cup side. I think I have a lot of things going for me in the right direction, and I’m very happy with my opportunities.”

Heim has won 14 races in his last 69 starts in the Truck Series. In each of his first two full seasons, he qualified for the Championship 4.

It’s easy not to be impatient about moving to the Cup Series, Heim said, with how good his Tricon Garage team performs.

“When you are winning races and competing very consistently, it’s fun and you are having a good time,” Heim said. “It is rewarding. I feel like if maybe I was struggling more on the Truck side or maybe seeking other opportunities, I feel like it would be different, but I’m really happy with my opportunities in the Truck Series. We are competitive every week, and it is really fun. It is rewarding – that is the main thing.”

In three starts, Heim has a career-best finish of 22nd in the Cup Series. He unexpectedly made his first two starts last year as the substitute driver for the injured Erik Jones in a Legacy Motor Club machine. One was at Kansas Speedway, which puts Heim in familiar water for the weekend.

The slate of races Heim will compete in has not been announced.

“I don’t think personally, I set rock solid goals or standards for any of these races,” Heim said. “I think a lot of it is just preparing to the best of my ability and executing to the best of my ability. Looking back at the Kansas race when I filled in for Erik Jones last year, there was a lot of things that stood out to improve on, I think that is the first step – just go the right direction and progress the right way. Those specific things are what I want to get better at, but I think with the resources that 23XI Racing has been able to give to me over the last couple of months to prepare for this race, I feel like I’ve got a good opportunity to come in and perform very well.

“So I think at this point it is just about executing on the things I’ve learned this year with 23XI, and definitely super excited. I just have a lot of resources and opportunities being a part of this organization. Don’t have rock solid goals, personally, but I think just going out and executing on the things I studied for is the main thing.”