NASCAR: Heim conquers the Brickyard to earn second Cup victory

Credit: Logan Riely via Getty Images

Corey Heim took the lead on a restart and held off hard-charging challengers behind him to win at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

As it unfolded

Carson Hocevar started on pole position for the second time in his Cup series career, after posting a lap time of 48.232 seconds on Saturday. Spire Motorsports teammate Daniel Suárez lined up next to him.

Within the first few laps, Hocevar had created a gap of nearly 2.5 seconds between him and Suárez. Kyle Larson moved up three spots in the first half of Stage 1, settling into seventh place. The rest of the top 10 remained mostly unchanged over the same period.

Austin Dillon was the first driver to pit, coming in at Lap 20 with a suspected tyre issue. Chase Briscoe pitted at Lap 26 and Larson at Lap 28.

Meanwhile, Suárez gained on Hocevar, bringing the margin between them to as narrow as half a second. Hocevar came to the pits on Lap 32, leading to a brief but tight battle for the lead between Suárez, Hamlin and Reddick before Suárez also pitted. Hamlin and Reddick held the top two spots for the next 10 laps.

A caution was thrown on Lap 44 when Larson blew a tyre and crashed. He had been in position to assume the lead after the pit cycle was completed. Ty Gibbs became the race leader.

Gibbs and Hocevar led the field back to green with one lap left in Stage 1. Gibbs shot ahead to claim the stage victory, Hocevar falling back to fourth after being stuck in the outside lane.

Stage 1 Results:

1. No. 54 - Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing)

2. No. 67 - Corey Heim (23XI Racing)

3. No. 71 - Michael McDowell (Spire Motorsports)

4. No. 77 - Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)

5. No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)

6. No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)

7. No. 7 - Daniel Suárez (Spire Motorsports)

8. No. 19 - Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing)

9. No. 17 - Chris Buescher (RFK Racing)

10. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)

Credit: Justin Casterline via Getty Images

Byron and Briscoe opted to pit during the caution, with most of the field staying out on track.

McDowell passed Heim for second when green flag conditions resumed. Ahead of him, Gibbs stretched out his lead.

Chase Elliott made contact with the wall, contributing to a tyre failure on Lap 60. No caution was issued, but he was forced to make a pit stop before going back to the garage.

Ty Gibbs gave up his lead to make a pit stop on Lap 75. Heim assumed the top spot, with Hocevar and Hamlin behind him. When Heim pitted on lap 91, John Hunter Nemechek took the lead.

Daniel Dye spun on Lap 96, bringing out a caution. Ross Chastain had the lead at the time. Stage 2 concluded under yellow flag conditions, handing Chastain the stage win. Todd Gilliland, competing in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge against Ryan Blaney, came across the line second.

Stage 2 Results:

1. No. 1 - Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing)

2. No. 34 - Todd Gilliland (Front Row Motorsports)

3. No. 54 - Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing)

4. No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)

5. No. 67 - Corey Heim (23XI Racing)

6. No. 77 - Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)

7. No. 60 - Ryan Preece (RFK Racing)

8. No. 71 - Michael McDowell (Spire Motorsports)

9. No. 43 - Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club)

10. No. 7 - Daniel Suárez (Spire Motorsports)

Credit: Logan Riely via Getty Images

Chastain and Gilliand both pitted during the stage break. Gibbs controlled the restart, with Hamlin alongside. Heim, Hocevar and Ryan Preece held the remaining spots in the top five as passes and blocks increased further back in the pack.

A caution came out on Lap 115 for debris on the track. Most of the teams made stops, with Heim narrowly beating Hamlin to be the first off pit road.

Aggression peaked on the restart, with several cars getting bumped out of the groove before a big wreck in turn three brought out another caution. Nine cars were involved, including Ryan Blaney and John Hunter Nemechek.

When they restarted with 34 laps remaining, Hamlin and Heim were on the front row again, with Christopher Bell and Joey Logano behind them.

Heim took the lead from the outside in turn one. Hamlin was forced to lift in turn two. His loss of momentum caused him to fall back to fifth. Bell and Logano moved up to second and third, respectively. Both Bell and Logano began to close in on Heim inside the final 25 laps but struggled to pass in the dirty air. At the same time, Blaney was catching In-Season Challenge contender Gilliland.

Despite the pressure from behind, Heim held his ground, taking the win. Todd Gilliland was the champion of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, finishing two positions ahead of his competitor, Ryan Blaney, to claim the $1,000,000 USD prize.

Provisional Results:

1. No. 67 - Corey Heim (23XI Racing)

2. No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)

3. No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske)

4. No. 19 - Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing)

5. No. 11- Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)

6. No. 6 - Brad Keselowski (RFK Racing)

7. No. 21 - Josh Berry (Wood Brothers Racing)

8. No. 60 - Ryan Preece (RFK Racing)

9. No. 77 - Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)

10. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)

11. No. 17 - Chris Buescher (RFK Racing)

12. No. 54 - Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing)

13. No. 41 - Cole Custer (Haas Factory Team)

14. No. 2 - Austin Cindric (Team Penske)

15. No. 38 - Zane Smith (Front Row Motorsports)

16. No. 97 - Shane Van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing)

17. No. 7 - Daniel Suárez (Trackhouse Racing)

18. No. 71 - Michael McDowell (Spire Motorsports)

19. No. 48 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports)

20. No. 47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Hyak Motorsports)

21. No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)

22. No. 4 - Noah Gragson (Front Row Motorsports)

23. No. 1 - Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing)

24. No. 34 - Todd Gilliland (Front Row Motorsports)

25. No. 16 - A.J. Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing)

26. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)

27. No. 43 - Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club)

28. No. 23 - Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)

29. No. 3 - Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing)

30. No. 10 - Ty Dillon (Kaulig Racing)

31. No. 51 - Cody Ware (Rick Ware Racing)

32. No. 42 - John Hunter Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club) [+2 Laps]

33. No. 33 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing) [DNF]

34. No. 88 - Connor Zilisch (Trackhouse Racing) [DNF]

35. No. 62 - Casey Mears (Beard Motorsports) [DNF]

36. No. 35 - Riley Herbst (23XI Racing) [DNF]

37. No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) [+41 Laps]

38. No. 78 - Daniel Dye (Live Fast Motorsports) [DNF]

39. No. 5 - Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) [DNF]