COREY HEIM DELIVERS A MASTER-CLASS AND CLAIMS VICTORY AT THE BRICKYARD
Toyota Development Driver wins second race in eighth start this season
SPEEDWAY, Ind. (July 26, 2026) – Toyota Development Driver Corey Heim continued to make history as he won the Brickyard 400, in his first attempt, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday evening. Heim and crew chief Bootie Barker had a masterful pit strategy, and Heim made it count on the final restart as he passed fellow Team Toyota driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin for the win. Heim would then hold off Toyota’s Christopher Bell for his second win in just his 15th series start. Toyota has now won four of the last five Crown Jewel races, including the last two Brickyard 400’s with 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Heim.
Heim led a dominate day for Team Toyota as for the second time this season (Kansas), and 17th in Toyota’s history, Toyota drivers scored four of the top-five finishes. Heim was chased to the line by Bell, while Indiana-native Chase Briscoe finished fourth and Hamlin was scored in fifth.
With four races remaining in the regular season, Hamlin holds a commanding 84-point lead in the points standings over fellow Toyota driver Tyler Reddick.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race 22 of 36 – 400 miles, 160 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, COREY HEIM
2nd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
3rd, Joey Logano*
4th, CHASE BRISCOE
5th, DENNY HAMLIN
10th, TYLER REDDICK
12th, TY GIBBS
27th, ERIK JONES
28th, BUBBA WALLACE
32nd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
36th, RILEY HERBST
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
COREY HEIM, No. 67 Field & Stream Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
Corey, drivers dream of winning here at Indianapolis. You’re just 24 years old. I’m sure this one is top of the list. What was going through your mind in the final few laps?
“Yeah, that was a damn handful. I was hanging on for dear life once the shade went down and the pace picked up. My car got really loose. I had never really been in a lot of clean air throughout the day, so that was the hardest I’ve ever fought in my life to just make sure I focused on exits and kept them in dirty air. I’m pretty out of breath. That was a workout. It was a dream come true. Winning at the Brickyard. That’s unbelievable. Thank you so much, fans, for coming out here. Caught a break early with the pit cycle, and just executed all day. Made no mistakes. My team, 23XI did a fantastic job with my Field & Stream Camry. First race with Field & Stream too, that’s awesome. First race, first win, so we hope we can keep it going.”
You said I’ve had to learn how to be more aggressive on restarts. Walk me through that restart with your boss, Denny Hamlin.
“Yeah, just had to be aggressive. It’s for the win. I would have to see it back to see if I did anything wrong. I think we both know we’re racing for the win. He has every right to be a little bit frustrated with me. He probably would have done the same thing. Had to be on top of it. Got a good push on the 22 (Joey Logano) to be in position, so thanks to him. Man, it’s crazy. Two for 15.”
I think you’ve dispelled the rumor that you need a lot of experience. The fans may not know you’ve never seen this place before Friday.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s unbelievable. I just studied my butt off, tried to make sure I’m prepared going into races. These guys give me unbelievably fast Camrys. Thanks to 23XI, Toyota. They’re on fire this year. I’m glad to be part of it.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
We saw you trying to hunt down the 67. How many times did you think you were going to be able to get to him?
“Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to be able to get there at all. My Rheem Toyota team were telling me he was going loose. I knew really that was going to be my only opportunity, was a mistake from him. I knew whatever it was, 35 laps, was a very long run. I just needed one bobble. If he had one bobble, I was going to be able to get there. Yeah, he did a great job. He showed excellent mental toughness. Put together 35 really good laps. I didn’t have an opportunity.”
These crown jewels, you’re not thinking about the points, but when you look at big picture, everything you have been through the last couple weeks, how does this second-place finish sit with you?
“This is a good second place. We’ve had a lot of bad second-place finishes. This one was a good one. We were buried after qualifying. Adam did great job with strategy to get us up there. Whenever we had the restart on the second row, I was really happy with our position. Yeah, just proud of Adam (Stevens, crew chief), proud of this team. We pulled together a really good day. We’ve run second a lot. There’s been bad seconds, but this one is a pretty good one.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
Were you close enough to the lead there to taste it?
“I would be lying if I didn’t on that final restart when I was rolling around the top. I could taste it for the slightest second, and then he kind of drug me back and then that was my one chance. If I could have cleared the 22 (Joey Logano) and had a run with the two leaders running side-by-side, maybe there was a chance to get it. A lot of things went our way at the end with the strategy and some of the cautions. We didn’t have quite the balance that we needed. It all started from lap one – I lost a couple of spots. With how track position dominate it was, just unfortunate to be that close. Overall great points day. With the 9 (Chase Elliott) and the 5 (Kyle Larson) having an issue, puts us right there in the in the mix of the top-five or six. Just appreciate all of the Hoosier Hospitality this week. Appreciate Mobil 1 and Toyota for running this paint scheme. It was cool to have the Mobil 1 colors on our Camry at IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We will go on to the next one.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
Corey told me that final restart, Denny is probably mad, but he would have done the same thing. Walk me through that from your perspective.
“Yeah, everyone is trying to fight to win the race. When you’re clear by an inch, you’re going to take that inch. It’s really more on us and the 20 (Christopher Bell) and the 19 (Chase Briscoe) of just not orchestrating good pushes there. We came detached at the wrong time. I thought the 20 obviously was on board with getting us the push. It was way too early before the restart zone. I can’t go till we get to the restart zone. He said that Briscoe was on him way, way early or laying back, one of the two. Yeah, that’s how you lose them. These restarts, when everyone kind of knows when you’re going to go, it’s about the pushes. That’s essentially where I got the lead from the 67 (Corey Heim) the restart before. Just came back the other way around. I maybe was in there just a hair into turn two, and he shut the door. I mean, yeah, everyone’s fighting for a big Brickyard victory.
You wanted this one. You were in the perfect position. Corey Heim is, on the other side of the coin, going to win a lot of races for you. How do you balance those two conflicting thoughts?
“It’s earned on their side and it’s on us as a team on the other side. I don’t know. I’m sure maybe I could have done something different on the restart with the timing of it. Man, just getting a shove so early just didn’t allow me to get my car straight before taking off. (Joey) Logano really timed the bump to the 67 (Corey Heim). I don’t know what we do different. We’re part of circumstances where the inside line didn’t get organized. Really proud of 23XI overall. That part-time effort that Bootie (Barker, crew chief) and Corey (Heim) is putting together, most times they’re on the racetrack, they’re our fastest car. They’re doing a heck of a job. Definitely a well-deserved victory.”
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