Corey Heim executes daring pass on final restart and holds on for historic Brickyard 400 victory
- TSN MOTORSPORTS INSIDER
- Jul 27
- 3 min read
Corey Heim began Sunday by discussing his intention to adopt a more aggressive approach during restarts.
He then demonstrated his newfound strategy to everyone, including his team co-owner, Denny Hamlin.
The 24-year-old part-time NASCAR Cup Series driver executed a bold maneuver by overtaking Hamlin on the outside and subsequently slowing him down during the final restart with 35 laps remaining. Heim successfully fended off the intense competition from Christopher Bell and Joey Logano to secure his first Brickyard 400 title.
Heim surpassed Bell by 0.287 seconds and Logano, last week's race victor, by 0.972 seconds, becoming the first Cup driver to achieve two wins in his first 15 career starts since 1965. A.J. Foyt, one of the four-time Indianapolis 500 champions, was the last to accomplish this feat, and like Foyt, Heim did not require a full-time ride to succeed.
"I had to be aggressive; it was for the win," he stated following his second victory of the season. "I would need to review the footage to determine if I did anything wrong. He has every right to be frustrated with me, but I had to be on top of it. I needed to move quickly for the 22 (Logano) to be in position, so thanks to him. It’s unbelievable."
Hamlin appeared more frustrated with Bell's poorly timed push, which enabled Heim to overtake him, and that was all Heim needed to seize control. Hamlin slipped from first to fifth, a position he couldn't recover from, extending his winless streak at Indianapolis to 18 races.
This remains the only crown jewel race of NASCAR's four that Hamlin has not won.
"Everyone is striving to win the race, and if you're clear by an inch, you'll take that inch," Hamlin remarked. "It was really about the 20 (Bell) and the 19 (Chase Briscoe) not coordinating effective pushes, and we became detached for a long time. I thought the 20 was committed to giving us a push, but it was far too early before the restart zone."
As Hamlin faded, Bell and Logano spent the final 34 laps attempting to catch Heim's increasingly unstable car. Each driver consistently closed the gap with quicker lap times, but neither could get close enough to attempt a pass on Heim.
With no additional caution flags to regroup the leaders, Heim was set for victory.
"It's a good second place," said Bell, Hamlin's teammate with Joe Gibbs Racing. "We've had numerous disappointing second-place finishes, but this one is positive given our position after qualifying. When we restarted on the second row, I was very pleased with our position. I'm really proud of our team; we put together a strong performance."
Heim wasn't the only significant winner on Sunday.
Hamlin extended his points lead over Heim's teammate, Tyler Reddick, who finished 10th. Ty Gibbs, fourth in points, secured a playoff spot with a stage win and a 12th-place finish. Additionally, Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports defied expectations by winning the $1 million prize in the final round of NASCAR's second In-Season Challenge.
However, no one was more satisfied with the results than Heim.
"That was incredibly challenging," the Georgian stated. "I was holding on for dear life once the shade fell, and the pace increased. My car became very loose, and I rarely had clean air throughout the day, so it was the toughest I've ever fought to ensure I focused on the exits and navigated through dirty air."
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