NASCAR Truck Series champion Corey Heim believes that qualifying for The Chase in his rookie Cup Series season is a realistic target for next season.
Heim, who currently runs a part-time schedule across the Truck and Cup Series, will race full-time in Cup next season after 23XI Racing confirmed he would be taking Riley Herbst's seat last week.
Heim has showed serious talent in his NASCAR career so far, and as a result, expectations from within the team are high. That includes making The Chase in his very first full-time season, according to boss Denny Hamlin.
"Wild prediction, but I think he's going to be a Chase driver right off the bat," the JGR star and 23XI co-owner told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week.
Corey Heim wants to make The Chase in rookie year
Heim made his own appearance on the radio this week following his exciting news, and it turns out he's unfazed by that lofty target.
“I mean that's that's a high expectation,” Heim said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, referring to Hamlin's comments. “But at the same time, when you look at how these cars have been running recently, that's a realistic goal of them to have for me.
“Tyler has won five out of the first what, 12, 15 races, that’s stout as it is, and Bubba’s been running better, Riley’s been running better, and of course, all the Toyotas have been just really really good, especially on the mile-and-a-half style race tracks, which predominantly make up the schedule.
"So yeah, I mean, it's a lot to ask from a rookie, but with the years of development I've had at 23XI and the time I've been able to spend with them to be ready for this season, I think that's a realistic goal.
“Not going to be an easy one by any means, but definitely gonna work as hard as I possibly can to achieve that.”
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