Corey Heim enjoyed a dream weekend at the Brickyard 400, but his first Crown Jewel victory also came with a funny moment involving 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace. After a huge gap in qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Heim sent Wallace a playful text message that went unanswered.
The exchange came after Heim shared advice before qualifying, only to discover Wallace had taken a different approach. Heim went on to win the race, while Wallace struggled throughout the weekend. The moment has drawn attention because it showed the growing relationship between the two teammates as Heim prepares to become a full-time Cup Series driver in 2027.
The lighthearted story also highlighted the contrast between Heim’s successful weekend and Wallace’s disappointing outing at one of NASCAR’s biggest races.
Corey Heim Reveals His Qualifying Exchange With Bubba Wallace
Bubba Wallace and Corey Heim found themselves at the center of a lighthearted moment after Brickyard 400 qualifying. Speaking on the “Door Bumper Clear” podcast, Heim explained that Wallace asked what he had done during his qualifying run.
Heim said he kept his foot off the brake pedal throughout the lap.
“Bubba came up to me after I ran my lap and I was like, ‘I just put my foot on the floorboard to make myself not use any brake. And I was assuming he would do the same thing. I brought up SMT, saw 100 pounds of brake pressure.”
After reviewing the data, Heim noticed Wallace had used the brakes despite the advice. Heim also admitted he lost most of his own time entering Turn 3.
“That’s where I gave up all my time when you look at SMT. I had so much time to think about it down the backstretch. I’m like, ‘I’m just not gonna mess this up.’ And I was just a little easy in Turn 3, and guys blew my doors off that were on the pole. I think I beat everybody just about through Turn 1, which was super important. But yeah, Turn 3, I agree that was the thing.”
Corey Heim Shines at Brickyard 400
Corey Heim turned his qualifying effort into a memorable race victory. The 24-year-old part-time 23XI Racing driver held off Christopher Bell and Joey Logano to win the Brickyard 400. It was his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2026 season and made him the youngest Brickyard winner since Jeff Gordon in 1994.
Bubba Wallace, meanwhile, qualified 29th, 22 places behind Heim, before finishing 23rd in Sunday’s race.
Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, explained that changing track conditions made qualifying much harder later in the session.
“Bubba, we were tracking decent. I think we’re gonna be top 10-12,” Kraft said. “But he got a little wide in the three, just a little too much arc.”
Kraft added that marbles outside the racing groove caused the biggest problem.
“And going out that late, there’s so many marbles just outside the lane. I feel like we just kind of got in the marbles a little bit, and just missed the corner and went from 12th to 30th essentially. The longer we go, there’s more marbles and it’s just such a fine line If you miss it by … inches.”
Corey Heim’s text leaves Bubba Wallace without a response
After qualifying, Corey Heim decided to joke with his teammate.
“I texted him, I said, ‘Bro what are you doing?’ He never responded.”
Podcast host Tommy Baldwin Jr. joked about Wallace’s likely reaction.
“He’s like, ‘This f—— kid already? I gotta deal with him breaking my chops because I had 100 pounds of break pressure?’”
Heim laughed and repeated what happened after Wallace asked for advice.
“When he walked all the way down pit road and asked me what I did, I said, ‘I never touched the brake.’ And then he goes and touches the brake.”
The exchange reflected the growing relationship between the two 23XI Racing drivers. Heim, who will join the team full-time in 2027, celebrated his biggest NASCAR Cup Series win while Wallace endured a difficult weekend at Indianapolis. The playful text message became another memorable moment from Heim’s breakthrough Brickyard 400 victory.
NASCAR: Corey Heim Shares Why Bubba Wallace Never Texted Back