CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — Corey Heim slammed into the wall twice while destroying his tires during the first few runs Sunday in the inaugural NASCAR race at Naval Base Coronado.It was no problem for Heim, whose No. 67 Toyota inexplicably kept getting faster on the way to his first career Cup Series victory in only his 13th start.The 23-year-old part-time driver from Marietta, Georgia, took a deep breath before the second half of the race and reminded himself that he had as much experience as the veterans on the 16-turn, 3.4-mile street course on Coronado Island, just south of downtown San Diego.“I’m speechless,” Heim said. “Maybe I knocked some good into the car. I have no idea. I had high expectations coming into this race. I just reset and went after it.”Heim, the 2024 truck series champion who will move full time into Cup next season with 23XI Racing, led the final three laps after snatching first from teammate Tyler Reddick.
“I was able to stick with him, and five to go came, and it was time to put some pressure on him and see if I could get him to make a mistake,” Heim said. “Sure enough, he did.”
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Bubba Wallace finished second to deliver a 1-2 finish for 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA great Michael Jordan.Reddick suffered a flat tire in the closing laps and fell to 25th, cutting his lead in the standings to eight points over Hamlin.
