In only a few days, 22-year-old Corey Heim will be duking it out for his maiden Truck Series championship in Phoenix. But on Thursday, TRICON Garage announced, Heim’s returning for another full-time year to drive the #11 Tundra in 2025. That will end all those speculations about the Toyota prospect’s future, although some would argue he’s overdue for a promotion to a higher-tier series. 

It’s been an open secret for quite some time now that Heim hasn’t yet found a better ride because he’s made enemies in some high places. In the last five years, he’s raced for five different TRD-affiliated teams across NASCAR and ARCA, yet, surprisingly, he’s never been behind the wheel of a Joe Gibbs Racing car. Rumor has it there’s still no love lost between Heim and his longtime rival, Ty Gibbs—grandson of Joe Gibbs himself. And that tension may well have shut the doors for him at the Gibbs family race team. However, in a recent interview with Bob Pockrass, Heim clarified that is hardly the issue.

Stuck in trucks? Corey Heim downplays the Ty Gibbs rivalry

Corey Heim just might be Toyota’s next great generational talent spending way too long in the developmental pipeline. In the last two seasons, he led TRICON Garage’s lineup and won 9 races, scoring 25 top fives and 36 top 10s while gifting his team the 2023 Truck Series Regular season championship. He’s won twice more in the ‘third tier’ with Kyle Busch Motorsports. After winning at Pocono earlier in the year, he earned the distinctive accolade of being the youngest NASCAR Truck Series driver to reach double digits in the wins column. 

Heim has also wheeled Sam Hunt Racing’s Xfinity Series Supras on multiple occasions and scored three top-5s this season on a partial schedule. Furthermore, he is the backup driver for both 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club in the Cup Series, two-thirds of all TRD-backed organizations in the premier tier. But nowhere on Corey Heim’s glittering resume will you find the mention of arguably the biggest Toyota team in NASCAR right now, Joe Gibbs Racing.

The 2021 ARCA Menards Series season could probably give us a better idea of why that is. That year, Heim, driving the #20 Venturini Motorsports Toyota, was neck-and-neck in battle with Ty Gibbs and his #18 JGR team for the ARCA championship. To sum up their feud that year in one word, it was simply “generational”. Gibbs won 10 races and claimed the title, while Heim finished 37 points short with 6 race wins. The pair tangled all year, with more than a few instances of one driver dumping the other. They even traded verbal jabs multiple times in their interviews. But nothing ever escalated beyond mere words and some beating and banging on the track. 

Since then, Corey Heim and Ty Gibbs have had a tumultuous relationship. More than a few members in the NASCAR community would suggest that is why Joe Gibbs Racing has never given Corey Heim a chance. After all, it is just outright strange that Toyota’s top prodigy had no appearances in the rotational Xfinity cars this season when lesser-accomplished drivers like Taylor Gray and Joe Graf Jr received a shot. So, Bob Pockrass put the question forward to Heim very clearly in a recent interview: “You and Ty had your issues in ARCA… Is it frustrating that sounds like Gibbs isn’t an option, or do you feel like you have a good path?”

But to see Heim steer away from the controversy with an unexpected explanation was quite a refreshing sight. “I feel like that topic is so over-pushed,” retorted Heim bluntly. “I don’t really think that’s really a big situation by any means. I’ve had great opportunities in the Truck Series. I’ve had great opportunities in the Xfinity Series.” He concluded, “And I don’t think there’s been any lack of opportunities for me in the past, and I don’t think there will be any lack of opportunities going forward either.”

Indeed, his limited schedule outings with SHR spur plenty of promise. And when he stepped in for an injured Erik Jones at Legacy Motor Club while the latter was recovering from a back injury, Heim looked almost ready for the Cup Series. Some rumors even linked the guy to 23XI Racing’s third full-time car earlier, although Riley Herbst emerged as the realistic contender for that seat in the following days.

But now, with 23XI’s legal drama hanging heavy in the federal courthouse of Western North Carolina, even those rumors sound like a distant reality. The future is bright for Corey Heim at Toyota, should OEM politics not drive another wheelman away from the Japanese manufacturers’ driver roster. Sure, a third-year run in the Truck Series is an excellent opportunity for Heim to develop, cutting his teeth in the lower series, but how long must a driver of his caliber wait for a fair chance to prove himself on a bigger stage?

Hopefully, not for long. And it would appear Heim’s rooting for it too, as he gets ready to fight for the 2024 Truck Series crown this weekend.

 Faith in Toyota’s support unshaken by JGR snub

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“I think the opportunities in development that I’ve been given these past two seasons has grown me into a better race car driver,” he told Pockrass as the conversations unfolded. “And I feel like I’ve been ready for the select Cup starts I’ve made as well…” But Heim knows that becoming a full-time Cup Series driver “is the long-time goal.” He understands developing as a driver in NASCAR isn’t a five-year plan. It takes years to hone your skills. And with the aura of a true future superstar with years of experience, he declared, “I don’t think there is any lack of development or opportunities in the Truck series. So I’m okay with doing that…” 

When Bob Pockrass asked Heim about any uncovered plans of potentially going Cup racing lined up, the Georgia native’s answer was certainly encouraging, especially for the folks over at Toyota Racing Development. Losing a driver of Heim’s talents would be foolish for any manufacturer. And his own words spell out nothing but confidence in his current alliance. “I mean, Toyota Racing has given me a lot of opportunities in the last couple of seasons to develop, and given me opportunities to make select Cup starts.”

Heim seemed to remind Pockrass, “You know, I’ve been the reserve driver for Legacy and 23XI this year, and those are going to be two opportunities on the reserve side, then one opportunity for a planned race at 23XI. So, you never know when the next opportunities come up.” He admitted that being a reserve driver doesn’t sound all that good, “but yeah, I think Toyota Racing has got me to this point. And I’m confident they can get me to Cup,” affirmed Corey Heim.

With a steadfast vision like that, it doesn’t seem too likely that their partnership will end anytime soon. Maybe Corey Heim deserves a better shot in a higher series. No doubt. But for now, his third year returning to TRICON might be the step he needs to attune his advances to his long-term development. Here’s to hoping Heim can better his chances by becoming a first-time champion at Phoenix.