“Same Level of Racecraft!” Dale Earnhardt Jr. Compares Corey Heim to Denny Hamlin After Milestone San Diego Win

The NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Naval Base Coronado witnessed some wild moments. 23XI Racing part-time driver Corey Heim taking advantage of his No:67 Toyota’s pace to win his maiden Cup Series win was the most impressive moment of the day. Hall of Famer Dale Eranhardt Jr. was happy to see the youngster thrive and that inspire him to make a bold comparison.

He claimed during the Prime post-race broadcast that Toyota got the next Denny Hamlin in Heim, as the youngster is taking a similar pathway to the top as his 23XI boss. They have similar race craft, talent and controlled aggressiveness. This factor helped the racer to outrun teammate Tyler Reddick on the final lap, with them going hard at each other for the lead.

Denny (Hamlin) has landed a driver that at times almost reminds me of Denny and the pathway that he’s taken. He’s went through some of the same cars that Denny went through in his journey. And the racecraft. Denny came with that same level of racecraft.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on Amazon Prime’s post-race coverage.

Further talking about the confidence and expertise shown by Corey Heim, the two times second division champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. predicted that the sport has another driver that is going to win multiple races a season for the next 20 years. Bubba Wallace finishing P2, despite going down two laps, made the race extra special for Denny Hamlin co-owned 23XI.

So, the mentality on the racetrack and the confidence that Corey Heim has behind the wheel, it’s very similar to me. So, I guess we could expect another 20 years of multiple wins. We don’t want to put the pressure on the young man’s shoulders, but he just came out here today and showed us how good he was.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added as reported via On3.com.

Corey Heim

Corey Heim is speechless after maiden Cup win

Talking about the triumph on his post-race interview, Corey Heim admitted that he is speechless and very emotion about how the race played out for them. He is thankful that his crew chief’s strategy was rewarded.

I’m speechless. I mean, we started the race, I think we started 13th. We fell straight back to 20th. Then put on our scuffs from qualifying, struggled just as bad. I don’t know if we made any adjustments. (Crew chief) Bootie (Barker) kept telling me these were our worst two sets of tires, we were going to be fine. He was right. I couldn’t believe it.

Corey Heim said post-race.

Further talking about the win, the youngster admitted that he had high expectations for the weekend, considering the whole field was making their debut at the venue, making it an even playing field. Young racer rarely gets this opportunity and he took it with both hands.

We strapped another set of tires on, and we were just fine. Hit the wall a couple of times and maybe knocked some good into the car. I have no idea… After Stage 2, I just took a deep breath. I had high expectations coming into this race. Even playing field for me (as a debut race). You don’t see that every day for a young driver like myself. Just kind of took a deep breath, reset and went after it.

Corey Heim added.

The racer has to thank Austin Hill, as the RCR driver taking out contenders Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilsich in an early race wreck changed the whole dynamic of the race. It would be interesting to see if the young driver can continue wining more races like he is doing now, when he makes his full-time debut for Michael Jordan’s team in 2027.

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