23XI Racing has been flying high in 2026, winning their lawsuit against NASCAR, and their driver is a title favorite. Now the organization has just gone and recruited an up-and-coming talent. The driver in question is defending Truck Series champion Corey Heim, and he earned a full-time seat. He does have Cup Series experience, having run a handful of races for Legacy Motor Club and 23XI Racing since 2024.

Why did 23XI Racing gun for Corey Heim for the Cup Series?

Recently, 23XI Racing president Steve Lauletta opened up on the decision to hire Heim on a full-time basis. At 23, he is still relatively young and approaching the prime of his career. With Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick in their early 30s, it might not be long before they call time. So Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan are definitely eyeing the organization’s long-term future.

“I think when we started stalking about, with Toyota, of what Corey’s future could be,” Lauletta told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “The new charter agreement wasn’t even signed yet with NASCAR. You could have four charters, so we were trying to prepare ourselves for that kind of future. Then that changed, now it’s only 3 charters. We’re always trying to adjust to the environment we’re in. It’s a results-driven business, and we obviously have an owner who’s on the track with these guys, week in a, nice to run him.”

“Then you kind of started aligning partners and timing, and we felt like 2027 was going to be the right opportunity to make that change. As I said, everybody here, we would love to figure out a way that Riley Herbst could stay at 23XI. He’s a great teammate and he’s improving everything that we need him to do, and working hard. We only had the three charters, and we had to make the best decisions for our future.”

Of course, with Heim on the roster, it means that 23XI Racing grows to four charters. This is honestly a bold move from the team, given their victory over NASCAR earlier this year. Nevertheless, Lauletta feels that having these four drivers is worth it. Reddick looks to be a title favorite in 2026, Wallace is solid, and Herbst is improving in leaps and bounds. Add Corey Heim in the mix, and 23XI Racing is assembling a talented bunch of drivers.

Is Corey Heim earning that call-up to the Cup level?

To be frank, winning the 2025 NASCAR Truck Series championship should be more than enough. However, 23XI Racing would probably sleep more easily, knowing that Heim is choosing to gain more experience. Which explains why he is not racing full-time in any of the three National series this year. That doesn’t mean that he has lost his edge, though, because Heim ha spicked up three wins in the Truck Series, including at Michigan this weekend.

Admittedly, he has yet to reach Victory Lane in the O’Reilly Series or the Cup Series. However, Corey Heim knows that that will come with time and experience. Maybe 2027 could be the year when he announces himself to everyone as a top contender. On the flip side, things could not work favorably, and he might struggle in his debut season. After all, it took Herbst a while to gradually find his feet in the organization. One thing is for sure: all questions will be answered in 2027.