Corey Heim gets his first Cup Series win at Naval Base Coronado

Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs

When the NASCAR Cup series comes to a road course all eyes are on the No. 97 team piloted by Shane van Gisbergen.

At the race’s end for the Anduril 250, the driver in Victory Lane wasn’t SVG or any other Cup Series driver for that matter. Earning his first NASCAR Cup Series win was part-time driver Corey Heim, piloting No. 67 for 23XI Racing, a team he’ll be joining full time in 2027.

When the inaugural Cup Series race at Naval Base Coronado began, if fans expected that SVG was going to set sail into the sunset (pun intended), they were sadly mistaken. Stage 1 laps clicked off sedately, with SVG, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, and Bubba Wallace leading laps with Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell running strong.

Christopher Bell, who is healing from a broken wrist suffered from a hard hit at Michigan two weeks ago, got out of the car at Lap 13 of Stage 1 when the race’s first caution came out for Ricky Stenhouse. Brent Crews, NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series driver, replaced Bell, but later wasn't able to continue due to engine issues. Ryan Blaney won Stage 1.

The teams turned up the wick during Stage 2. A pivotal incident occurred on the restart at Lap 32 of Stage 2. Connor Zilisch lead the field to green with Austin Hill on his outside with SVG briefly making it three wide. Zilisch and Hill crashed and collected six other cars. The incident ended the day for Zilisch and SVG.

With SVG out of the race, all bets were off for who would prevail. Ryan Preece won Stage 2 with Riley Herbst, AJ Allmendinger, Chris Buescher, and Ryan Blaney sniffing the lead. The final stage began with RFK Racing teammates Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher in front of the field.

By Lap 51, the odds were evening out among manufacturers with the No. 5 Chevy of Kyle Larson leading with the No. 67 Toyota of Corey Heim and the No. 12 Ford of Ryan Blaney, making up the Top 3.

Corey Heim’s tire management skills were making him look like a hero in the closing laps, but reigning champ Kyle Larson wasn’t going to make it easy for Heim to run him down. As the laps clicked off, in typical fashion, the No. 45 of Tyler Reddick was patiently and expertly running up front just waiting to take the lead.

But Corey Heim, who ran in second, wasn’t going to hand him the trophy. Heim slowly cut into Reddick’s lead. Ultimately the No. 45 and No. 67 raced side by side. At Lap 73, Reddick overdrove Turn 5, allowing Heim to clear for the lead, and the fairy-tale ending of the inaugural race at Coronado became part of NASCAR’s storied history.

Rounding out the top 10 were Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Zane Smith, AJ Allmendinger, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Riley Herbst, Ryan Blaney, and Michael McDowell. The Naval Base Coronado marked the first one-two finish for 23XI Racing.
 

The race featured 19 lead changes among 12 different drivers, with seven cautions accounting for 11 laps. 

Next week the NASCAR Cup Series goes to its last road race of the season at Sonoma Raceway for Toyota / Save Mart 350.

 

Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs