It is easy to think that a young NASCAR driver will instantly succeed just because they get promoted. Corey Heim is officially moving up to race full-time in the Cup Series in 2027. He is taking over the No. 35 Toyota for 23XI Racing. However, the project that seems destined for success could be derailed if 23XI Racing doesn’t make the right decisions.
Kenny Wallace thinks the real challenge is who will be on Heim’s team next year. In a recent video on X, the NASCAR veteran said the current setup could force team owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan to make a very tough choice.
“Bootie Barker and Corey Heim, what to do with this team?” he said. “So we know that Bootie Barker and Corey Heim, we know they’re winning races in this 67. But next year, Riley Herbst is leaving. That’s the car that Corey Heim is gonna take over.”
“In a perfect world, you take Bootie Barker, you take Corey Heim, and you just plug this team in. Hell, leave it number 67. But a little birdie tells me that maybe Bootie don’t wanna run the whole year. So do we keep this team together? That’s what Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan are gonna have to ask themselves.”
Wallace is pointing out a huge problem. It was known Heim would replace Riley Herbst in the No. 35 car. But Heim and his current crew chief, Barker, have become one of the most dangerous pairings in the Cup Series despite running only a part-time schedule.
They won at Naval Base Coronado, then backed it up with a Brickyard 400 win at Indianapolis. Two wins in fifteen starts are not just impressive; they represent the kind of efficiency which usually gets people talking about championships, not development programs.
Barker has publicly praised Corey Heim’s work ethic and even compared the way he lifts a team to a young Jeff Gordon. But even if 23XI Racing somehow manages to keep this pairing intact, they won’t have the last say.
The complication is Barker himself. Barker used to be Bubba Wallace’s full-time crew chief. After the 2024 season, 23XI Racing moved Barker into a bigger management job. He only came back to the pit box to help train Heim in the part-time No. 67 car.
If Kenny Wallace is right, Barker does not want to go back to a stressful, full-time 36-race schedule. That is an issue 23XI will need to tackle.
Do they force Barker to work full-time on the No. 35 to keep the winning team together? Or do they give Heim the No. 35’s current crew chief, Davin Restivo, and let Barker go back to management?
At first glance, Heim moving to the No. 35 looks like a big step up. In reality, he would be leaving behind the group that has figured out how to win with him. The No. 35 team under Restivo has not shown the same speed or consistency that the No. 67 team has.
History proves that splitting up a young driver and their favorite crew chief can waste years of their career.
Just look at William Byron. Before he made it to the Cup Series, Byron dominated the lower ranks with his trusted crew chief, Rudy Fugle. But when Byron moved up to the Cup Series, he was given different veteran crew chiefs. Even though he drove top-tier cars for Hendrick Motorsports, Byron struggled to find his footing. He only won one race in his first three years.
If Heim starts his rookie season with a different crew chief and a different group around him, he loses the chemistry that has made his transition to Cup racing look almost effortless. That is why Wallace’s comments landed the way they did.
The question is not whether Corey Heim belongs in the Cup Series. He has already answered that. The question is whether 23XI can keep together the one partnership that has already proven it can beat the best drivers in the sport.
