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Less than a week after competing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it has been announced that Corey Him will return to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule this weekend.
Corey Heim will race at this weekend's Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway in a last-minute addition to his 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
The part-time 23XI Racing driver, who was shockingly jumped and punched by several members of Treyten Lapcevich's team last month, will get behind the wheel of the No. 67 Toyota once more on Sunday, just a week after making the 11th of his 12 scheduled NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Heim, 24, who took home an iconic Martinsville keepsake after that wild crew attack, had already been lined up to make his final start of the season in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 8, but a late change to his schedule means he will now be competing in 13 races for 2026.
The late change comes ahead of Heim's full-time transition to 23XI Racing in 2027, following his incredible Cup Series victories at Naval Base Coronado and the historic Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
When he makes his full-time move to 23XI Racing in 2027, Heim will replace Riley Herbst behind the wheel of the No. 35 Toyota, in a lineup that consists of Bubba Wallace in the No. 23 Toyota and Tyler Reddick in the No. 45 Toyota.
Before then, however, he has two more races to compete, starting with Sunday's race at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, where Heim's No. 67 Toyota will become the only non-chartered (open) car on the entry list for the 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) oval.
Because he is eligible for points in the Craftsman Truck Series, however, Heim is not eligible for Cup Series points, though the same cannot be said for the No. 67 team, which is at least eligible for points in the owner standings.
Heim has averaged 27 points per race in 2026, which ranks 10th-best in the series and would have placed him solidly in the playoffs had he run the full schedule.
What plays into Heim's hands on Sunday is that he is competing on a track that is very special to him, as it is where he historically clinched the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship in 2025.
His deep familiarity with the 1-mile oval's unique geometry gives him a notable confidence boost compared to other tracks on his part-time schedule, as does being the only driver in the 37-car field completely unbothered by the high-stakes pressure of the Cup Series playoff race.
While others are points-racing or driving cautiously to protect their postseason life, Heim can focus entirely on aggressive, maximum-effort execution to contend for another victory.
It comes as NASCAR prepares to change its brake rules for Sunday's race at Phoenix to avoid a repeat of what happened at Gateway during the Enjoy Illinois 300 last month.
The company told teams on Wednesday that they can remove and replace front brake rotors and pads after Saturday's practice and qualifying, though no other brake system components can be changed during that process.