4 Takeaways From Corey Heim's Masterful Brickyard 400 Win - FOX Sports

What the report says

Fox Sports reported that Corey Heim won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, earning his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and the second of his career. Heim, competing on a part-time Cup schedule for 23XI Racing, took control after a restart with 35 laps to go and held off Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin to close out the win at one of NASCAR’s marquee venues.

According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, the decisive moment came when Heim received a strong push from Logano on the restart while the group of Hamlin, Bell and Briscoe failed to coordinate as effectively. Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing, fell back after entering the restart in position to contend, while Bell moved into second. Fox Sports noted that 23XI has now won consecutive Brickyard 400s, following Bubba Wallace’s victory the previous year.

The race also turned on an early setback for Kyle Larson, who had looked strong before a left-rear tire failure on Lap 44 ended his bid near the front. Larson, a Hendrick Motorsports driver and the 2024 Brickyard 400 winner, described the outcome as disappointing but part of racing, per Fox Sports.

In a separate storyline, Todd Gilliland finished 24th and won NASCAR’s $1 million in-season tournament, a bracket-style contest decided across five races. His final opponent, Ryan Blaney, finished 26th after being involved in a crash. The Cup Series now heads into an off weekend before resuming at Iowa Speedway, followed by short-track stops at Richmond and New Hampshire.