23XI Racing confirmed on the eve of the NASCAR O'Reilly Series Sports Illustrated 250 at NASCAR Super Speedway that Corey Heim will move into a full‑time NASCAR Cup Series seat for the 2027 season, taking over the No. 35 Toyota from Riley Herbst. The team said Herbst will leave at the end of the year.
Heim arrives with a résumé built in the Truck Series and in 23XI’s development program. The reigning Craftsman NASCAR Truck Series champion won a record‑breaking 12 races in that series and has been a 23XI development driver since 2024, when he ran one race for the team; he ran four in 2025. This season he’s been running part‑time in the No. 67 Cup ride and this weekend marks his fifth start with the Cup operation. His best finish this year is 15th and his average finish sits at 23.25. Heim also led a career‑best 69 laps at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month before being caught up in a crash with 13 laps remaining.
The move locks in Heim’s long‑term place in the Cup garage and ends the stopgap nature of his program. For 23XI, the announcement cements next season’s roster weeks before the team’s season arc is decided; for Heim, it converts development status into a guaranteed seat. Herbst’s exit clears the vacancy; he has been linked in transfer speculation to Legacy Motor Club should that team acquire a third charter, a backdrop that makes the timing of 23XI’s announcement more than administrative.
Heim, who has repeatedly described himself as committed to the team’s plan, welcomed the promotion while stressing patience with the current program. He told team officials he wants to race as much as possible but is focused on the approach they have laid out and looks forward to more Cup races this year and the chance to grow his race craft on and off the track.
That public commitment highlights the principal friction in the move: Heim is being elevated to a full‑time Cup role even though he remains a part‑time Cup driver this season because no full‑time ride was available. 23XI released a 12‑race schedule in February for a fourth, unchartered car; the team has not tied that slate or any additional starts to Heim’s transition. The announcement secures his 2027 seat but leaves the immediate program — how many starts he will get, where they will be staged and whether 23XI will accelerate his Cup mileage ahead of next year — unanswered.
What happens next is concrete and limited: Heim will continue his part‑time appearances this season, including the start at NASCAR Super Speedway this weekend, and is scheduled to join 23XI full time in the No. 35 Toyota for 2027. The sharper, unresolved question is operational: will 23XI use the unchartered 12‑race plan or other openings to give Heim more Cup experience before he takes the No. 35, or will his development continue largely on the current, incremental path until next year? The answer will determine whether the promotion is immediately transformative or primarily a future guarantee.
