One of the rare situations where a first year driver in NASCAR won’t be eligible for the “Rookie of the Year” award.
Corey Heim is already a force to be reckoned with on the racetrack. The 24-year old has only been running part time in NASCAR this season, but it was announced last month that the phenom will be replacing Riley Herbst and joining 23XI Racing full time next season.
That was undoubtedly the right call by 23XI Racing, considering Heim has already won twice this year: the first ever San Diego Naval Base Coronado race and the iconic Brickyard 400.
So one of the most talented young drivers in NASCAR will be joining one of the hottest teams in the Cup Series. 23XI Racing, which is owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan along with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, will be more than happy to have Heim join the team full-time.
Though right now, they are probably a little frustrated by NASCAR changing around some rules that will make Heim ineligible to win the “Rookie of the Year.” It was on the Hauler Talk podcast that vice president of racing communications for NASCAR, Mike Forde, explained why the record-setting Heim won’t be able to win the coveted “Rookie of the Year” award:
“When you’re looking at a rookie, they’ve changed. The rookie designation has changed over the years, and also, not all rookies are created equal. In that, to be a rookie, you actually have to apply to be a Rookie of the Year candidate.
So you can go through the entire season and be a rookie, be a first-year driver, and not be technically a Rookie of the Year candidate if you didn’t apply to do so. And then recently, we have changed the rookie criteria.”
That effectively removes Heim from the Rookie of the Year conversation.
Why? Well, there’s a limit for Cup starts now in the award criteria. It’s set at 12, and Heim has already competed in 15 separate races. Also… Corey Heim never applied for the award:
“Corey Heim will NOT be eligible for ‘Rookie of the Year’ next season. The limit for Cup is 12 starts. Heim is already at 15. He’s not eligible for the award this season because he didn’t apply/sign-up.”
In other words, Corey Heim has had a stellar rookie season… even though 2026 won’t technically not recognized as his rookie season. I suppose he won’t ever have a rookie season, since next year will be considered as his second year of NASCAR racing.
And what makes it sting even more for Heim? With the new parameters of “Rookie of the Year” eligibility being 12 or less starts in the Cup Series, 10 or less in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and 8 or less in the Craftsman Truck Series, and him having 15 starts, he would have still been eligible just a few years ago.
Noah Gragson made 18 starts in 2022 and was still eligible for the award in 2023. Though he didn’t win the award, the title of “Rookie of the Year” did go to Ty Gibbs that year, and he had made 15 starts in 2022.
