The entire NASCAR community has eagerly awaited the Cup debut of Corey Heim. In a surprising twist, the wait is about to end. Heim will make his first Cup start tomorrow (April 28) at Dover Motor Speedway.
Heim will be driving the No. 43 Toyota Camry for Legacy Motor Club. He is filling in for Erik Jones, who was injured in a violent crash last weekend at Talladega. This is exactly why teams like Legacy and 23XI Racing have reserve drivers. Heim competes in the Truck series full-time for TRICON Garage.
After a quick 20-minute practice session this morning, Heim got his first taste of Cup qualifying. The 21-year-old will start 32nd tomorrow, directly ahead of his teammate John Hunter Nemechek.
“Just trying to do the best I can for this group,” Heim told NASCAR.com of his weekend objectives. “They’ve consistently been getting better throughout the year, and I’m super grateful for everyone at Legacy Motor Club and the people there for doing everything they possibly can to get me ready.”
Jones has been at the track to help Heim in every way possible. This is the first race that Jones will miss during his career, and his status going forward is up in the air. The veteran driver said that he feels good, but doesn’t know how he would feel inside the car. That is especially true at a track like Dover, which is extremely demanding from a physicality standpoint.
Should Jones not be able to return next week at Kansas, the team has already stated that Heim would be back in the car. The other driver who was rumored to replace Jones has already been entered in the race.
Asked by @bobpockrass whether Corey Heim will be in the No. 43 car every week until Erik Jones returns from injury, Jimmie Johnson wouldn’t rule out driving the car himself (not next week though, as Johnson is already in the third car at Kansas).
It makes sense, to get the young phenom a bit of experience before he makes the leap to Cup in the coming years. His talent is immense, but this is a difficult stage for him to showcase it.
Tempered Expectations at Dover
While the future is promising, it will be important to temper expectations this weekend. Dover is called the “Monster Mile” for a reason, and it reminded everyone of that earlier in the day. Rookies Zane Smith and Kaz Grala crashed during practice this morning, and Christopher Bell spun and hit the wall during qualifying.
Trouble for @KazGrala!
He gets into the wall hard, but exits the vehicle under his own power.
Heim understands the situation and knows the respect he will have to show the track and his fellow competitors. “It’s not going to be easy,” Heim admitted. “But it’s a longer race than I’ve been accustomed to than the Trucks and Xfinity stuff, and I’ve also got the Xfinity race as well to kind of lean off of as well, so I’ve got the time this weekend to sort of figure it out.”
“I don’t know if I’ll feel like I’ve figured it out by the end of the weekend. I’m sure it’s gonna take me a lot longer than this weekend, but any advice has been super important. I’ve been reaching out to as many people as I possibly can just to try and gather all the information and just have a decent idea.”
Help From Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Nemechek
Heim will have plenty of help to aid him on his maiden voyage. Hunter Nemechek will be lined up right behind him for the start of the race, giving him plenty of room. The key will be to log laps, execute live pit stops, and avoid being a major obstacle for the race leaders.
Corey will have two teammates to help guide him along. The second has much more experience, and accolades that cannot be matched. Team owner Jimmie Johnson is making one of his handful of starts this weekend, at a place where he has dominated in the past. Johnson, who starts 27th, has won 11 times at Dover and has 18 total top-five finishes. He has led 3,113 laps in his 38 starts at the track.
Heim sees the value of Johnson as a teammate, but he feels the support from the entire organization. “There is really just a long list of men and women at Legacy Motor Club that have helped me get prepared for this race, and I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t a little nervous about it just because I’ve never sat in one of these cars before, but my job is to do the best I can for this group until Erik comes back.”
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Corey Heim Nervous Ahead of Cup Debut at Dover