Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim exchanged humorous jabs on social media following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at San Diego. The race saw Heim, who is on a part-time Cup Series schedule, win his first career race in just his 13th start.
On the way to victory, however, the driver of the No. 67 tangled with Hocevar. After contact that sent Hocevar spinning with 10 laps to go, Heim received some backlash on social media following the race.
This led to the two up-and-coming drivers sharing a humorous exchange.
Heim used old Hocevar clip in response to backlash
With 10 circuits remaining in Sunday’s Andruil 250, Heim approached Hocevar’s back bumper for second place.
As they entered a corner on the 3.4-mile street course, Heim got into the back of Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet. The contact sent Hocevar spinning and thwarted his chances of capturing his second career Cup win.
Meanwhile, Heim went on to outduel 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick and pull off the upset victory in the inaugural race at the Coronado Street Course.
Many were excited to see a first-time winner, but others did not appreciate how Heim went about winning. An X user expressed their displeasure in Heim’s aggressive move on Hocevar, writing:
“Had to spin out Hocevar to win it. #77 will remember.”
Heim responded with quite the jab to the X user and Hocevar. In reference to the contact with 10 laps to go, the defending Craftsman Truck Series champion posted a clip from this year of Hocevar saying:
“Well just get the (expletive) out of the way and there wouldn’t be a wreck, you know what I mean? Just move. Just move out of the way.”
Hocevar commented under the video with a meme of his own, humorously insinuating he was staring Heim down.
It is not the first time Hocevar and Heim have tangled on the track. In 2023, the two wrecked each other in the season-finale Craftsman Truck Series race. Both were championship contenders going in, but neither won the title due to the incidents.
Heim already with first Cup win ahead of 2027 full-time move
With 26 victories and a championship in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, it was inevitable that Heim was going to be a Cup Series star. Yet, no one could have predicted it would be this soon.
Heim is in his second year of being a part-time driver for 23XI Racing. With his win at San Diego on Sunday, he is the first driver since Jimmie Johnson to win his first Cup race in his 13th career start.
In 2027, Heim will move up to the Cup Series full-time. The Georgia native will replace Riley Herbst in the No. 35 car at 23XI Racing.
Along with his part-time Cup schedule, Heim continues to race part-time in the Craftsman Truck Series. He has tallied three wins this season at Darlington, Rockingham, and Michigan.
Last year, Heim broke the single-season record for wins in the Truck Series (12) and capped it with his first career championship. Heim finished runner-up to Ty Majeski in the 2024 Truck Series season.
NASCAR: Carson Hocevar, Corey Heim Trade Social Media Barbs