The 2025 Truck Series season was a 23-race parade for Corey Heim. Driving the No. 11 for Tricon Garage, the 23-year-old captured a staggering 12 wins, eclipsing Greg Biffle’s 1999 record of nine, among other accolades. However, for as much as his resume screams of a generational talent, promotion to a full-time ride in the Xfinity or Cup Series within Toyota has eluded him. According to Bob Pockrass, it might have to do with his beef with Ty Gibbs.

“If JGR wanted Heim, they would have had him in the car this year,” Bob Pockrass tweeted on Friday. “The ARCA battles between him and Ty apparently don’t make that a good fit.”

For what it’s worth, Heim has made his case pretty clear.

His dominance was near-total, setting records for most laps led (1627) in a single season and becoming the first driver in the top-3 NASCAR national series to lead a lap in every race of the season. Moreover, he had 19 top-five finishes and a stunning 1.4 average finish across the seven playoff races. He has already proven capable in his limited Xfinity and Cup starts for Legacy Motor Club and 23XI Racing.

For years, Joe Gibbs Racing has served as Toyota’s premier development team, traditionally providing rapid advancement for talent of Heim’s caliber. And with the results he has recently produced, a full-time Xfinity seat there or a Cup opportunity at a Toyota affiliate is warranted.

But that’s where the ol’ rivalry comes in.

The lingering bad blood between Heim and fellow Toyota star and team owner Joe Gibbs’s grandson, Ty Gibbs, effectively blocks Heim’s career progression within the premier Toyota organization.

The source of the conflict traces back to the intensely fought 2020 ARCA Menards Series season, where Heim and Gibbs were the dominant titans vying for the championship. Their competitiveness boiled over in several races, culminating in a dramatic, hard-contact incident where Gibbs punted Heim out of the lead to steal a controversial victory at Winchester Speedway.

It’s been half a decade since then. However, the impending personal friction is an obstacle for Heim.

As JGR is the primary feeder system for top Toyota talent into the Cup Series, this institutional barrier prevents Heim from accessing the guaranteed top-tier Xfinity seat that drivers like Christopher Bell and Erik Jones typically receive as the final stepping stone. So, the only way left? Leave Toyota.

Many fans argue that Toyota is making a fundamental business error by risking the loss of a generational talent, especially when competitor manufacturers like Chevrolet and Ford could capitalize on the opening.

Fan anger over personal conflict hurting a talent like Corey Heim

One loyalist’s sentiment, “Corey needs to bet on himself at this point,” is directly inspired by successful precedents where highly-touted development drivers chose to leave a manufacturer pipeline that failed to provide a clear path forward. The most prominent example is that of Bubba Wallace. Following the 2014 season, he was unable to secure a full-time, fully sponsored Xfinity Series ride with JGR, despite having driven for them part-time.

Wallace successfully requested his release from the Toyota program and was immediately signed by Roush Fenway Racing to drive the No. 6 Ford full-time in 2015. This move ultimately paid off. Wallace not only advanced to the Cup Series but also found his way back into a premier Toyota ride with 23XI Racing.

That’s what another fan also stated: “It’s funny because a very similar situation happened with Bubba Wallace when he left Toyota the first time, and it worked out pretty well for him in the long run.” 

While another fan commented, “Absolutely. I guarantee the GM camp would’ve already had him in a JRM ride by now, at a minimum. Toyota is only holding him back.” JRM, co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., operates one of the most successful Xfinity programs and frequently provides seats to top prospects who lack the necessary immediate Cup funding, such as Noah Gragson and Josh Berry.

Crucially, the Chevrolet pipeline, historically less rigid than Toyota’s, has a proven history of immediately promoting dominant Truck Series drivers to competitive Xfinity programs. For instance, Jesse Love went straight into a full-time Xfinity ride with Richard Childress Racing in 2025. Fans realize this, and that’s why they’re asking Heim to leave as Toyota holds him back.

Some fans stated in bewilderment, “I don’t know how Chevy or Ford didn’t/haven’t poached him after the news that 2026 was sort of up in the air of what he was going to do.” The most desirable seats at top-tier organizations like Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske are locked up with long-term contracts extending through 2026 and beyond.

But the scarcity of available charters and the necessity for drivers to bring substantial sponsorship money often trumps raw talent, as seen with Riley Herbst securing the 23XI No. 35 seat largely due to the financial backing of his family’s Monster Energy affiliations.

Yet another fan opined, “JGR and 23XI are both going to fumble this. Heim will wind up at Legacy once they secure that 3rd charter.” This theory gained significant traction due to Heim’s existing relationship with LMC, where he previously served as a reserve driver and made two Cup Series starts in 2024, filling in for the injured Erik Jones.

Heim’s chances at LMC dramatically improved when the team, co-owned by Jimmie Johnson, successfully secured a third charter for the 2026 season via a resolution with Rick Ware Racing after a contentious lawsuit.

While the drama continues, the unified voice of the fans is clear: Toyota must find a seat for its fastest young star, or risk losing a generational talent to the competition.