NASCAR’s next generation of drivers has suddenly burst onto the scene in a big way, with three first-time Cup Series race winners — all aged 23 — within the last 2 1/2 months.They’re talented, aggressive and all with good teams. But the best news for the sport? None of them seems to be particularly fond of the others.The most recent two first-time winners, Talladega winner Carson Hocevar and Naval Base Coronado street race winner Corey Heim, will resume their long-standing rivalry this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway when Heim makes his return to the Cup Series for the first time since his surprise victory two weeks ago.And Heim is without a full-time ride this season despite a historically dominant Truck Series campaign in part because of a conflict with the other first-time winner, Ty Gibbs, which made it untenable for Heim to race at Toyota flagship team Joe Gibbs Racing.The chilly relationships are a far cry from the most recent group of NASCAR stars, which features close friends Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott, who race hard on the track but are supportive toward each other off of it.Corey Heim has had differences with both Ty Gibbs (left) and Carson Hocevar (right) as the three have ascended the NASCAR ladder. (Will Lester / Sonoma Raceway / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)The Hocevar/Heim/Gibbs dynamic certainly isn’t outright hate, but there’s been enough conflict to spark some headlines recently — especially between Hocevar and Heim, whose relationship might have been damaged beyond repair during the 2023 Truck Series championship at Phoenix Raceway.Heim appeared headed toward the title in that season’s finale, but Hocevar made an overly ambitious move to the inside and wrecked Heim’s truck. Heim later retaliated by wrecking Hocevar to make sure he didn’t win the title, either.The two haven’t raced together very often since, after Hocevar moved up to the Cup Series in 2024 and became the controversy magnet known as the “Hurricane” while Heim remained in the Truck Series for two more seasons (and won the title last year).But then came the San Diego street race two weeks ago, when Heim spun Hocevar and went on to win his first career Cup race in a shocker as a part-time driver for 23XI Racing.Initially, it seemed like it could be no big deal. Hocevar told The Athletic immediately after the race he wasn’t particularly upset, and Heim downplayed the incident in the postrace news conference, saying he regretted spoiling Hocevar’s result.“Next thing I know, I go from five (car lengths) back to on his bumper, then he’s turned around,” Heim said. “It all happened so fast, I really don’t know what happened, to be honest with you. Sorry to those guys for ruining their day.”Racing part time in the Cup Series for 23XI Racing, Corey Heim was a surprise winner of NASCAR’s race on Naval Base Coronado last month. (Chris Graythen / Getty Images)But when a fan chirped at Heim on X — “Had to spin out Hocevar to win it. #77 will remember” — he chose not to let that remark drift by without a response. Heim quote-posted the fan’s comment with a video of Hocevar talking about his tongue-in-cheek philosophy about getting involved in so many incidents.“Well, just get the f— out of the way, and there wouldn’t be a wreck, you know what I mean?” Hocevar says in the clip, with only a hint of sarcasm. “Just move. Move out of the way.”Hocevar, seemingly unamused by Heim’s use of the video clip, responded with an image of Dexter Morgan, the fictional vigilante serial killer from the show “Dexter,” possibly plotting his next move.Their feud gained further attention when Heim passed on the opportunity to call into the “Dale Jr. Download” podcast, as almost all Cup Series race winners do every week, after remaining in California for an extra couple of days following his victory. Hocevar happened to be guest-hosting Earnhardt’s podcast that week, and Heim’s absence on the hotline did not go unnoticed by Hocevar.“If only they had cell service out west,” Hocevar wrote on X.Heim, again not missing the chance to take a jab at Hocevar, replied: “Sorry dude my Spectrum went out again.. time to switch I guess.”Spectrum? Oh, that’s just the internet company sponsoring Hocevar’s car at San Diego; rival Xfinity is a sponsor of Heim’s 23XI team.But perhaps the public back-and-forth was a bit of show, because it turned out Hocevar had texted Heim to say congratulations after the win. During his podcast-hosting appearance, he said getting spun by Heim was “(three) years coming” after that infamous Phoenix championship race.“I was like, ‘All right. Fair,’” Hocevar said. “Obviously, he is very good, and I am looking forward to racing his ass off for 20 years.”But Heim did do a podcast appearance a few days later (in full disclosure, it was this writer’s show) and explained his ongoing beef with Hocevar.“At the end of the day, he wiped me out for a championship, so I’m always going to hold that grudge against him,” Heim said. “I didn’t have any intent to turn him around backward (at Coronado), but when he was sitting there looking at me, spinning out, I wasn’t mad at it either.”Heim went on to say he doesn’t hate Hocevar “as a person” and acknowledged Hocevar’s exploding stardom with the NASCAR fanbase (Hocevar is quickly becoming one of the most popular drivers). But Heim said he lost respect for Hocevar at Phoenix, dislikes how Hocevar races on the track and will never cut him any slack.“It will be fun to watch,” Heim said of their rivalry. “I don’t foresee it getting crazy at Chicago (on Sunday), I just think we’re not going to give each other an inch — and maybe occasionally we’ll slip up and cause an incident.”Oh!Then there’s Gibbs, grandson of three-time Super Bowl-winning coach Joe Gibbs, who won the Bristol race in April and in many ways will determine the future of JGR on and off the racetrack. Gibbs and Heim used to race online during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, but their clashes as lower-series drivers while racing ARCA in 2021 turned into a heated feud.When it came time for Heim, a Toyota driver, to move up the ranks, there was no home for him at JGR — which is the natural landing spot for most in the Toyota camp. A clear reason has never publicly been given, but the ill feelings and lack of available Cup seat are known to have played a role in why Heim did not race there.Asked last weekend about rivalries between young drivers, Gibbs said he’s “always been pretty cool with Corey” and added “it’s super cool to see his success” while acknowledging “we raced pretty hard for a little bit.” But the two need to get along to some degree now; with Heim about to race full time at JGR alliance team 23XI next season, the two will soon be in competition meetings together regularly.Gibbs pointed to the budding rivalry between Haiden Deegan and Jett Lawrence in AMA Pro Motocross, which has injected some spice into their season and drawn additional attention, and said such spats can be “good for the sport.”“You can make it however you want to look like,” Gibbs said, breaking into a grin. “Sometimes you’ve got to play into it a little bit.”But there’s not bad blood between every up-and-coming driver. Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch is best friends with O’Reilly Series champion (and incoming Cup rookie) Jesse Love, despite hard racing between the two.Their close friendship is often a frequent storyline — which has irked none other than Hocevar, who is a lone wolf among the drivers. During that podcast guest-hosting gig last week, Hocevar criticized all the discussion around Zilisch and Love’s friendship because, in his view, it takes away from the competition element of the sport.In turn, that sparked yet another barb between young drivers.“If you’re jealous,” Love wrote to Hocevar on X, “just say that.”