Corey Heim may have won his second Cup Series race even before he takes up his full-time role at 23XI from next year, but a lot of the questions post-race were about his infamous rivalry with Carson Hocevar. 

Heim drove the No. 67 23XI Toyota to Victory Lane at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway but not before blocking Hocevar for a significant portion of the second stage. 

On Lap 92, as Heim was pitting with Hocevar stuck behind him, Hocevar got alongside the 23XI driver in his No. 77 Spire Chevrolet and flipped him the bird. 

Heim was asked about his thoughts on Hocevar’s disrespectful gesture while speaking to the broadcasters on the post-race show, as posted on X. Heim laughed and responded, “Handed them a big fat L after that one.”

But it wasn’t only on the post-race show; even the post-race press conference between the newest Crown Jewel race winner and the media saw several questions directed towards that particular lap 92 incident. 

Asked about blocking Hocevar, Heim replied, “I’m not too sure I was blocking them. Not really too bad, I thought. I meant I was trying to just hold my position and I never threw a bad block. I was just trying to protect my entry, and he didn’t like it. But he lost, and I won, so I don’t really care.”

Heim wasn’t holding back in his responses towards Hocevar, much similar to the way he drove when he held up Hocevar, who had just pitted and was losing grip on a new set of tires while being stuck behind the 23XI driver who was yet to pit. 

Heim left baffled by media questions surrounding Hocevar

Corey Heim is just 15 races old in the Cup series, and he already has two wins. Two vastly different but iconic wins. And both wins were marred by talk around Hocevar. 

In San Diego, Heim nudged Hocevar out of the way to take the lead and eventually the win, and in Indianapolis, he needed to hold up Hocevar on newer tires, leaving the Spire driver unable to take advantage of his new rubber. 

During the post-race press conference, which was uploaded to YouTube by Cup Scene, Heim was asked another question about the brewing rivalry, and his response showed how he feels about the media asking questions involving Hocevar. 

Heim said, “You guys love talking about a guy finished 9th. I mean, holy crap, like all I did was make sure he stayed behind me and I finished in front of them.”

Speaking on the rivalry, he said, “I don't worry about a narrative or a genre. Like he's got a ton of talent and he's gonna win a lot of races and I'm focused on myself and trying to do the same. That's really all there is to it.”

Heim may or may not view Hocevar as a rival, but fans will surely be keeping an eye out for a developing arch featuring the two drivers when they go head to head next year as Heim steps into the role of 23XI’s full-time No. 35 Toyota driver. 

Do you also view the Heim-Hocevar dynamic as a brewing rivalry? Let us know. 

Read more at RFK Racing Digest.

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason