Corey Heim has reacted after NASCAR ruled him ineligible for the Rookie of the Year award. The 23XI Racing driver said the decision has reduced the value of the award.
NASCAR recently clarified its Rookie of the Year rules. The Cup Series now allows a driver no more than 12 starts before the rookie season for which they seek eligibility. Heim has already made 15 Cup Series starts since his debut in 2024.
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The rule means Heim cannot compete for the award when he begins his first full-time Cup Series campaign with 23XI Racing in 2027. NASCAR also requires drivers to apply to become Rookie of the Year candidates. Heim did not submit that application for 2026, so he was not eligible for the award this season either.
During a post-race interview at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, Heim shared his frustration with the rule.
“My only problem with it really is, you’re sort of losing value to that award. I think if you want that award to mean something, if you’re giving somebody a trophy and you say, here you go, you’re the best rookie, are you really?”
“That’s my thing, if you’re gonna give someone a trophy and take a picture, make it worth something, and it’s losing its value. But that’s just my opinion, and it’s not the end of the world, we’ll keep moving forward.”
Heim has collected two Cup Series victories in 15 starts.
“I wasn’t made aware of it”- 23XI Racing owner on Corey Heim’s NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year eligibility
Denny Hamlin was surprised by NASCAR’s change to the Rookie of the Year rules and shared that he was not aware of the rule that affected Corey Heim until recently. The 23XI Racing co-owner said the new Rookie of the Year start limit did not influence the team’s plans for Heim’s 2026 Cup Series schedule.
“I wasn’t made aware of it, nor was I aware of what the plan was. I don’t think that we necessarily designated the certain amount of races based off of that,” Hamlin said at Richmond Raceway.
“It’s weird, because they did say, ‘Oh, that’s case by case.’ But it sounds like they put out a number, but it’s a new number, maybe?”
Meanwhile, Corey Heim’s first NASCAR Cup win came at Naval Base Coronado in June. He added another at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
Edited by Palak Gupta
