Corey Heim shared his honest feelings about the ongoing rivalry with Carson Hocevar. The 23XI driver admitted that he holds a grudge against Hocevar for costing him the 2023 Truck title.
Heim took the NASCAR world by storm when he won the inaugural race at Naval Base Coronado. He also drew flak for taking out Hocevar in the final laps.
They addressed the scuffle in a lighthearted online banter, but all’s not well in Heim’s camp. In a recent interview with NASCAR reporter Jeff Gluck, the 23-year-old called out Hocevar for his past antics.
“I mean he wiped me out for a championship, so I’m always gonna kind of hold that grudge against him. You know, I obviously didn’t take that very well and I wrecked him back that day. I didn’t have any intent to turn him around backwards on Sunday, but when he was sitting there looking at me, spinning out. I wasn’t mad at it either, You know what I mean,” Heim said.
“It’s just kind of one of those things. I mean, I just kind of lost a lot of respect for him in a race car that day. I don’t hate him as a person or anything. like I’m not gonna walk up to him at a grocery store and try to fight him or anything like that. You know what I mean, but I’m never gonna cut them any slack,” he added.
Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar share a contentious relationship dating back to their Truck Series days. During the 2023 title finale, Hocevar spun out Heim and drew his retaliation in just 27 laps.
Hocevar retired to a 29th-place finish, while Heim placed 18th on the lead lap. The latter, however, was punished for his offence with a behavioural penalty. He was docked 25 points and fined $12,000, relegating him to third in the championship standings.
Their rivalry seemingly continued after the San Diego race. 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin revealed that Hocevar had asked for Heim’s number after Sunday. He also admitted that Heim was in the wrong for taking out Hocevar.
Corey Heim’s crew chief heaps praise on the rookie driver
Corey Heim’s crew chief, Bootie Barker, lauded the No.67 driver after his San Diego win. The veteran shared a blunt take on Heim’s prowess as a race car driver.
“He’s just more talented than anybody else,” he said.
Corey Heim achieved his win in only his 13th Cup Series start, disproving the notion that a driver needs 100 races to graduate. He now heads to Chicagoland Speedway for his next part-time outing.
Notably, Carson Hocevar rallied for a Cup race at Chicagoland last year. The Spire driver will be looking to one-up Heim in the track’s revival.
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