Corey Heim Upsets the Field for First Career Cup Win in San Diego

Corey Heim won the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Naval Base Coronado on Sunday, his sixth win of the 2026 season. He made the race-winning pass with three laps remaining against his 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick.

“For awhile there I thought he was kind of playing with me,” Heim said about his battle with Reddick. “He was able to set the pace being in the lead car, but I was kind of able to stick with it.”

Tyler Reddick at one point appeared to have the race on lock until a mistake allowed Heim to close the gap. With two to go Reddick lost a tire, placing him 25th to finish the race. Bubba Wallace finished second to complete a 23XI sweep of the top-two, followed by Kyle Larson, Zane Smith, and A.J. Allmendinger.

Heim’s first career Cup Series win came in just his 13th career start. He already has three Truck Series wins in 2026, running part-time in both series without a full-time seat to speak of.

Heim has been confirmed as the 2027 driver of the No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota, replacing the outgoing Riley Herbst. His No. 67 team is made up of many part-time crew members, making Sunday’s win an upset on multiple levels.

On the final restart of the race Carson Hocevar emerged as the leader. He was nudged by Heim with ten laps to go, causing his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to spin and collect Ross Chastain. Tyler Reddick inherited the lead with Heim on his tail.

Corey Heim is the third driver to get their first career Cup Series win in 2026, following Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar. He’s the first driver to score their first win prior to their rookie year since Shane van Gisbergen won his NASCAR debut at the Chicago Street Course in 2023.

SVG, Zilisch Taken Out

BIG CRASH ON THE RESTART!

SVG AND ZILISCH ARE INVOLVED! pic.twitter.com/bOrghcm9y5

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 21, 2026

On Lap 32 the whole makeup of the race changed in an instant. Austin Hill’s No. 33 Chevrolet appeared to run tight in Turn 1, forcing Connor Zilisch into a hard impact with the outside wall. Both cars shot back to the right ahead of traffic, totaling Shane van Gisbergen’s dominant No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Ty Gibbs also sustained damage.

Hill and Zilisch had just restarted on the front row; both drivers appeared poised to contend for their first Cup Series victories. Zilisch led the first laps of his career on Sunday, becoming the youngest driver ever to lead on a road course.

Points Outlook

Initially hoping for a big points day, Shane van Gisbergen now finds himself outside of the Chase after Sunday following a 38th-place finish. His place went to Ryan Preece, who capitalized on stage points and finished 11th to rise three spots in the standings.

Preece now occupies the Chase cutoff spot, five points head of van Gisbergen. Joey Logano is the next closest at ten points back, followed by Brad Keselowski at 13 down. A.J. Allmendinger raked in points with a fifth-place finish, putting him 20th in points and 21 points outside the Chase.

Tyler Reddick’s points lead is now the thinnest it’s been all season. Had he maintained a top-two finish Reddick could’ve built back some of the ground he’s lost to Denny Hamlin in recent weeks, but a 25th-place finish leaves him just eight points ahead of his team owner. Ryan Blaney remains third, 133 points out of the lead.

Race Results