$45M-worth NASCAR champion drops clear verdict on 23XI Racing’s unutilized Cup Series asset

NASCAR Cup Series team 23XI Racing co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin announced the signing of Corey Heim as the team's first-ever development driver last month. While Heim is yet to race in the first of his several scheduled Cup Series races this season, former NASCAR Cup champion Brad Keselowski has praised the 22-year-old saying that he looks like a proper Sunday driver.

In 2025, Corey Heim is competing full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series for TRICON Garage. However, he is set to run multiple races in the Cup Series with 23XI Racing and also in the Xfinity Series with Sam Hunt Racing. Heim has been very impressive in the four Truck races so far, winning two out of the first three races, and finishing third in Friday's race in Miami.

The 22-year-old started the 134-lap race at Homestead-Miami Speedway from pole and dominated the race winning the first and second stages. He was on course for a comfortable third victory of the season before he lost the lead of the race due to an engine problem with just four laps to go. Kyle Larson eventually won the race from Layne Riggs and Heim came home in third.

Despite the setback, it was an utterly dominating performance by Corey Heim and he received some well-deserved praise from $45 million worth Brad Keselowski (as per Celebrity Networth) after the race. A post on X (formerly Twitter) by @SpeedFreaks captured Keselowski's comments on the young driver, calling him ready for the NASCAR Cup Series.

"Corey Heim looks like a Sunday driver - @keselowski with high praise for the @23XIRacing development driver," the post read.

Heim will make his first Cup Series start of the season on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, in the AdventHealth 400 in Kansas. He will drive the #67 Toyota Camry and will partner with Bubba Wallace's former crew chief Bootie Barker.

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Brad Keselowski's poor start to the 2025 NASCAR season

With 36 Cup Series wins and the 2012 championship under his belt, Brad Keselowski is one of the greats of NASCAR. However, he would have hoped to get a better start to his 2025 campaign. In the five races so far, Keselowski has not been able to finish in the top 10 even once. And that is something he is looking to change moving forward.

In a recent video clip shared on X by the 41-year-old, he was seen speaking to his team, trying to boost their morale. He spoke about how he had to take on multiple roles when he was early in his racing career and how he was driven to do all of those things at the highest level possible for him.

"When I grew up in racing, I think I pretty much did every job except for the gas man and jackman which is pretty self-explanatory… Obviously, I drove the race car, crew chief, race engineer, and mechanic one time… I wasn’t very good at any of those things, to be honest, compared to you guys," Keselowski shared.

"Everybody is way better at those things than I ever was. But I knew still what it took. The most important thing to me outside of being talented to doing it was having a set of values and behaviors that drove me to do it at the highest level possible," he added.

Brad Keselowski currently sits in 30th in the NASCAR Cup Series drivers' standings with 73 points against his name.