Commander Corey
Anduril 250:
It was Heim Time for the first time in the NASCAR Cup Series Sunday evening after Corey Heim captured the checkered flag in the inaugural race at Naval Base Coronado in the Anduril 250. The win was what is likely to be the first of many for Heim in the Cup Series. It also, without a shadow of a doubt, solidifies 23XI Racing's decision to bring Heim into a full-time ride for 2027 and beyond.
This race was phenomenal and delivered great action from the green flag to the checkered flag. I was skeptical and nervous that this race would either be a relative snoozefest after a few laps with SVG dominating or an absolute cluster of a race. Yet, it was neither. It was a great street/road course race with attrition, pit strategy, drivers managing their tires, a crucial caution, great battles throughout the field, a field of drivers who adapted as the race went on, making it more exciting, and an intense battle for the win with a (semi) underdog story winning the race to earn their first win in the NASCAR Cup Series. To me, a big story of the race was SVG and Zilisch getting wrecked out of the top three after an aggressive restart and dive into turn 1 from Austin Hill. This wreck, by taking out what many deemed the two to beat in SVG and CZ, reshaped the race and opened the door for a handful of other drivers to fight for the win. It also drastically reshaped the Chase cutline by putting SVG firmly on the fringe of the Chase, rather than the commanding balance of points to the cutline we all anticipated before the race started. This caution was also oddly timed and played a key role in strategy for the rest of the day. Yet, after this major ruckus, we saw the drivers kind of calm down and focus on getting as much as they could. With the two top dogs out, I think more drivers saw their chance to win and take advantage of a bad day for SVG, and decided to take what they could get instead of trying to take what maybe wasn't there. After this, I was not sure who was in the best position to win. At times it looked like Chris Buescher, then Blaney, then Larson, and Bubba Wallace was even knifing through the field with impressive skill and speed. But on the final restart, I assumed Reddick would get by Hocevar (he did) and set sail for the win (he did not). Reddick made relatively quick work of the 77 car, but could not shake Heim after Heim sent the 77 around. Heim was in Reddick's tire tracks most of the run until Reddick slipped a bit and Heim got by him. Then, I assumed, Reddick would pass him back with extreme precision. However, a minor gaffe by Reddick and a subsequent blown tire ended the 45 car's day and gave Heim a 10-second lead on then-second place Bubba Wallace. And Heim stayed calm, executed the final few laps flawlessly, and captured his first career win in an impressive manner.
Next up, NASCAR stays west with a trip to Wine Country and the Sonoma Raceway. The Craftsman Truck Series enjoys a few weekends off before they return on July 11 at Lime Rock Park. For this weekend, we will see the O'Reilly Series hit the track first on Saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. EST on The CW for the Pit Boss/FoodMaxx 250. The Cup Series takes on the twists and turns of Sonoma on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. EST on TNT for the Toyota / Save Mart 350.
Sonoma Picks:
Trucks = OFF
NOAPS = SVG
Cup = SVG
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