23XI Racing star Corey Heim won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Coronado after passing his teammate Tyler Reddick in the final few laps of the race. Heim’s crew chief, Bootie Barker, came out after the race and hailed the 23-year-old.
As Heim won his first Cup race at Coronado Naval Base last weekend, his Crew Chief, Bootie Barker, spoke with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio and was asked what makes the 23-year-old so special.
“He’s just more talented than anybody else,” replied Barker
The 23XI Crew Chief was then asked what he saw in Heim that made him think that No.67 Toyota had a shot at passing the No.45 of Tyler Reddick and winning the race.
“I mean, he’s put the work in, and our whole organisation had a great car, so I knew. I wish the No. 45 could’ve come home in second for points, but anyways, it is what it is.”
Corey Heim started the Cup series race at Coronado in P13 in the No. 67 Toyota, which was the 13th Cup start of his career. With 23XI Racing announcing Heim as Riley Herbst’s replacement starting in 2027, the 2026 schedule is focused on getting the defending Truck champion settled into the Cup series.
After the final caution at the Cup race in Coronado, three of the four 23XI Racing drivers, Tyler Reddick, Corey Heim and Bubba Wallace, were running inside the Top 3. Although Reddick had a three-second lead, Heiman started cutting into it in the final five laps before eventually making a move on the No. 45 Toyota.
Tyler Reddick suffered a front puncture with a couple of laps to the chequered flag, and had to pit because of it. Bubba Wallace made a move on Kyle Larson in the final few laps to secure 1-2 for 23XI Racing.
23XI asked Corey Heim to “take bigger risks” after Kansas
Corey Heim won the Truck Championship last year with a record 12 wins and decided not to run in the championship this year. In preparation for the 2027 full-time Cup role, Heim is set to drive 12 races this season.
He finished P15 in Kansas earlier this year when the car had the pace to finish in the top ten. It was after Kansas that 23XI Senior Director of Competition Dave Rogers asked Heim to take bigger risks. Corey Heim revealed this conversation in an interview with ESPN as he said,
“He was like, ‘Hey, man, I don’t want you to wreck our cars or anything, but it’s OK if you take these bigger risks and learn. No one is going to think poorly of you if you hit a wall or do this or that to hinder the result because you took those risks. We want you to be ready for 2027 and learn from mistakes,’”
“I feel like I’ve been thinking about that a lot, in regard to my decision-making and my mindset throughout a race. It’s not as much about results as it is learning and being prepared to be full-time next year,” he added.
With Corey Heim moving into Riley Herbst’s seat, the latter is expected to make a move to the No. 84 Toyota of Legacy Motor Club.
