Corey Heim Snubbed yet Again? JGR Signs 17-Year-Old Prodigy Brent Crews to 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Seat

The uncertainty of Corey Heim’s career continues as Joe Gibbs Racing signs Brent Crews for the 2026 NASCAR second division seat.

Corey Heim Snubbed yet Again? JGR Signs 17-Year-Old Prodigy Brent Crews to 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Seat

Brent Crews and Corey Heim (Via brentcrews.com and IMAGO)

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Toyota has one of the best pipelines for young racers that dream of making it big in NASCAR and they have now secured the signature of the sports’ brightest prodigies. Joe Gibbs Racing, the premier team in the Toyota Racing Development umbrella, has announced that 17-year-old Brent Crews will race for them in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

Brent Crews is set to drive the iconic No:19 Toyota in the series for 29 of the 33 scheduled races in the season. Unfortunately, he can’t race the full schedule due to the age limit set for drivers to race in the Superspeedway events. Hence the youngster will have to wait more to make his Daytona and Talladega debut.

No. 19 JGR Toyota GR Supra was one of the best teams in the 2025 season, despite it being an operation for part-time drivers. They won three races this season, curtesy of veteran Aric Almirola, while the likes of Justin Bonsignore, Jack Perkins, Riley Herbst, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, and Christopher Bell also drove for them.

But amidst all this the big question some fans have is why TRD’s biggest talent Corey Heim wasn’t given an opportunity. He won the 2025 championship, with a dominant season that saw him win 11 races including the season finale. But his future is still in limbo, as Legacy MC might not be his best choice and 23XI Racing, with whom he has a contract with, is caught up in the charter lawsuit mess.

The star driver is more than ready for promotion to the Cup series and a second division seat is the bear minimum he deserves for the three impressive season he has had in the Trucks. One of the major reasons why JGR might never give the youngster a seat is the beef with Ty Gibbs, the JGR driver who is also a co-owner of the team.

The battles Heim had with Gibbs, while they were racing each other fir TRD in the ARCA series has left a bitter taste in Joe Gibb’s mouth, and the team seems to believe the beef is too big to ignore, making Heim unfit for the role. If no opportunity materializes this season, the youngster might decide to switch alliances, and any Ford or Chevy team will be more than happy to sign him.

Despite the age Brent Crews got solid racing experience

2026 will mark Brent Crews’ second division debut, as he has previously only raced in the NASCAR Truck series which to in a part-time schedule. He drove in 10 third division events, nine for Tricon Garage and one for his own team, Brent Crews Motorsports. A P2 at Charlotte Roval was his best rest of the year.

Brent Crews
Brent Crews (Via nascar.com)

In the ARCA Menards Series, he has driven for the likes of Venturini Motorsports, JGR and Nitro Motorsports in the last three years. He has won races with all three of them, with a record of 6 wins and 13 top 10s from 17 starts. He has also had a string career in the Late Model Stock Car arcing series, The CARS Tour.

He drove in the championship for two years, debuting for Lee Faulk Racing. His second and last season was with Kevin Harvick Inc., the team owned by the 2014 Cup champion, who is also one of the co-owners of the series. That year (2024) he won three races from 16 starts and finished the season at P5 in the table.

The youngster Trans-Am Series Winner ever has secured some solid racing championship in his junior’s career. That includes, 2023 SCCA Trans-Am TA2 ProAm Series, 2024 World Series of Asphalt Super Late Model Series and 2017 Rotax Grand Nationals Micro Max Series. But none of the success be enough preparation for the massive challenge ahead of his in the NASCAR O’Reilly series.

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