Corey Heim won 12 races and the championship in 2025. Somehow, he still goes into 2026 without a full-time Cup seat, which says everything about where his title chances stand.

He’s still one of NASCAR’s top prospects and part of Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing system, but right now he doesn’t even have a full schedule, so any title talk depends on how many races he actually gets.

While fans are eager to see him with a trophy, the logistics of his current schedule are making it difficult. In a recent conversation with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Corey said, "I really only have a couple more scheduled, and the couple of wins have helped kind of propel sponsors to want to come on board. We're kind of working on a couple more races—not exactly sure when or where yet—but I don't think the championship is in my future unless just something, you know, changes overnight, which it could, you know?"

His current focus is balancing a limited schedule between TRICON Garage and 23XI this season.

He has won two of his four Truck starts this year and still sits third in the standings despite missing races. To stay in the title fight, though, a driver needs to compete every week.

"I don't think it's in the works by any means, but, um, yeah, for now just kind of piecing our schedule together and just sort of focusing on the ones we've got for now and, you know, maybe we'll get some more along the line, but I don't think a championship is in my sights this year," he added.

The Financial Barrier to a Full-Time Cup Seat

After last season, Corey Heim has nothing left to prove on performance. The issue now is money.

At 23XI Racing, Riley Herbst holds the third seat with backing from Monster Energy, which became important during the team’s legal fight with NASCAR.

Even with a poor 2025 season, that deal is still in place. But the No. 35 seat is expected to open next year, which could finally give Heim a full-time shot.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Sanskriti Pastor

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav