Exclusive: Corey Heim Hints at Michael Jordan’s SHR Charter Buyout Amidst Hopes of Repeating Kurt Busch’s NASCAR Legacy

Corey Heim certainly seems to be making a name for himself, isn’t he? The 22-year-old won his fifth Craftsman Truck Series race of the season at Pocono Raceway, battling the climate and his competitors in the rain-interrupted CRC Brakleen 175. Currently, in 2nd place in the standings, the Tricon Garage driver is just 32 points behind leader Christian Eckes and is hoping that his performances will lead to a place in 23XI Racing’s Cup Series team, where he also serves as a reserve driver.

Hoping to follow in Kurt Busch’s footsteps, Corey Heim has just dropped the biggest hint about his Cup Series future so far in an exclusive interaction with EssentiallySports at Pocono Raceway.

Could 23XI Racing opt for a third charter for Corey Heim?

With Stewart-Haas Racing ceasing operations at the end of the 2024 season, there have been plenty of talks about teams that could purchase their charters in the Cup Series. As things stand, Front Row Motorsports expanded its Cup Series operation by acquiring a third charter, while Gene Haas will retain one for the Haas Factory team in 2025. This means only two charters remain up for grabs, and one of them could potentially be bought by Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team.

After Corey Heim’s race win at Pocono, the 21-year-old was asked by our NASCAR journalist, Bharat Aggarwal, if his performance at CRC Brakleen 175 was a good audition for 23XI Racing. To which, with a wide smile, Corey Heim replied, “I would like to think so, I hope I get the ride.”

With the team already featuring Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, both drivers are not expected to leave the team at the end of the 2024 season. This means that the only possibility of Corey Heim getting “the ride” is if 23XI Racing purchases one of Stewart-Haas Racing’s charters.

It’s no secret that Toyota has invested a significant amount of money in Corey Heim’s development, with the hope of seeing him eventually race in the Cup Series. With 23XI Racing being a Tier 1 team with continuous expansion of their business [the newly built Airspeed is no secret], Toyota would want to see a driver as promising as Corey Heim perform in the NASCAR Cup Series with better equipment at his disposal.

After 14 races in the Truck Series, Heim has ten top 5’s and twelve top 10 finishes and looks ready to follow Kurt Busch’s footsteps. And, if Corey Heim does make it to the Cup Series, he wouldn’t be the first driver to make the jump from the Truck Series directly into NASCAR’s top tier.

Driving the No. 99 Ford F-150 in the Truck Series, Kurt Busch had an impressive debut season, securing four wins but finishing runner-up to teammate Greg Biffle in the standings. As things stand, Corey Heim is also second in the series, with five wins so far.

In a video uploaded by RFK Racing on X, Kurt Busch said, “Six years of not even doing go-kart stuff, straight up like legend cars what I started in. And yeah, it went that fast. To go from Truck to Cup, Jack Rousch came up to me after we won Milwaukee. It was like July 4th weekend. That was my first ever win in Trucks, and says, hey, would you like to go to Cup? All right, what? You win one truck race and now you want me in Cup? Sure, I’m ready if you’re ready but we’re gonna wreck a lot of stuff. You’re right, it was a quick transition.”

Ironically, Kurt Busch was at 23XI Racing before his NASCAR career came to an end. Driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry in 2022, Busch’s final year in the Cup Series was cut short after crashing out in qualifying at Pocono Raceway and missing the final five races of the regular season.

If Corey Heim does make his way into the Cup Series, the 21-year-old will bring a lot of excitement back into NASCAR’s top tier, especially considering his tremendous potential at his tender age. Do you think Corey Heim will represent 23XI Racing in the Cup Series next year? Let us know in the comments!