Corey Heim, a 24-year-old from Marietta, passed his own team co-owner on the final restart Sunday, July 26, and held off the field to win the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It's the biggest win yet for a driver who grew up racing Legends cars at Atlanta Motor Speedway before climbing through NASCAR's ranks. Heim is the first Cup Series driver to win twice in his first 15 career starts since A.J. Foyt in 1965, according to the AP.

The decisive moment came on Lap 127 of 160. Leader Denny Hamlin, who co-owns Heim's 23XI Racing team alongside Michael Jordan, chose the inside lane on the restart. Heim picked the outside. Hamlin had Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe lined up behind him, but the trio failed to organize a coordinated push. Heim got a sustained shove from Joey Logano in the top lane, barely cleared Hamlin, and never gave the lead back.

He led the final 35 laps and beat Bell to the finish by 0.287 seconds. Logano was third. Hamlin faded to fifth, more than six seconds back, extending his winless streak at Indianapolis to 0-for-18.

"That was a damn handful," Heim said after the race, per the AP. "I was hanging on for dear life once the shade went down and the pace picked up, my car got really loose and I never really got a lot of clean air throughout the day, so that was the hardest I've ever fought in my life."

The victory was Heim's second Cup win of the 2026 season. His first came at the Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado on Sunday, June 21. He's accomplished both while running only a part-time, 12-race schedule as a development driver for 23XI Racing, piloting the No. 67 Field & Stream Toyota. The team announced in May that Heim will move to a full-time Cup seat in 2027.

Heim's path to the Cup Series ran through East Cobb. He won the Young Lions division at Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder series in 2016 and the Pro division championship in 2017. He went on to win the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title, setting a single-season record with 12 victories.

Sunday's race was Heim's first-ever visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile oval.

The Cup Series takes a two-week break before heading to Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 350 on Sunday, August 9. Four races remain in the regular season before the 16-driver playoff field is set.