Corey Heim’s rise this season has been meteoric. The defending Truck Series champion, at the highest level, has won two races, running a part-time schedule. And that was enough for 23XI Racing to hand him a full-time deal for 2027. But in the process of making that transition, Heim could miss out on one of NASCAR’s biggest individual honors.
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Heim will not be eligible for the NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year award next season, as revealed on the Hauler Talk podcast on August 12.
Heim already has 15 Cup Series starts, while the limit to be classified as a rookie is 12. In other words, Heim is too experienced to qualify for a “Rookie” award according to NASCAR, even though he will technically be a rookie as a full-time driver.
Heim’s Cup résumé began with three starts in 2024. He added four more in 2025 before making eight starts so far in 2026.
Cavanna further revealed that Heim will not be eligible for the award this season because he did not apply to be a candidate before the campaign got underway. In fact, despite his Cup Series success, he is not classified in the standings because he declared part-time for the Truck Series as well, where he has won three races this season.
NASCAR vice president of racing communications Mike Forde explained why Heim is not eligible for the award in 2027.
“Not all rookies are created equal, in that to be a rookie, you actually have to apply to do so. So you can go through the entire season and be a first-year driver, and not technically be a rookie of the year candidate, if you didn’t apply to do so,” Forde said on the Hauler Talk podcast.
As Forde explained, “And then recently, we have changed the rookie of the year criteria. So for the NASCAR Cup Series, you can have no more than 12 starts prior to the rookie of the year season you’re looking to apply for.”
This rule, however, is new. In the past, drivers with significant Cup Series experience have been given this award. Shane van Gisbergen won the 2025 Cup Rookie of the Year award after making 14 Cup starts across the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined. Ty Gibbs also won the 2023 award after making 15 Cup starts during the 2022 season.
But there have been drivers who have found themselves in a similar situation, like Corey Heim. Ross Chastain encountered a similar issue in 2021. At the time, NASCAR’s eligibility guidelines generally required drivers to have no more than seven starts in a previous season.
Chastain had made 79 Cup starts since 2017. However, he had never run a full Cup season or previously declared for championship points. NASCAR said drivers exceeding the seven-start mark could receive an exemption at the Rookie Panel’s discretion. However, Chastain’s numbers were too far beyond the limit to warrant an exemption.
So while 2027 will be Heim’s first full-time Cup season, it will not be his Rookie of the Year season. For Heim, the bigger prize will be proving that his two victories are only the beginning of his Cup Series career.