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Corey Heim Wins Brickyard 400 as Pit Strategy Decides Indy Weekend

The results highlighted how pit calls and track position have become decisive because the Next Gen car makes green-flag passing nearly impossible.

Overview

  • Corey Heim drove the No. 67 for 23XI Racing to victory at Indianapolis on Sunday, leading a race-high 58 laps for his second Cup win of 2026 and his first Crown Jewel triumph.
  • Heim executed a late pit-call strategy and an outside restart pass on Denny Hamlin to take the lead, then held off Christopher Bell and Joey Logano over the final 30 laps.
  • Todd Gilliland earned the $1 million prize in NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge by finishing 24th, two positions ahead of Ryan Blaney, who spun and later crashed and placed 26th.
  • The race outcome and postrace analysis underlined persistent problems with the Next Gen car’s dirty air, which left leaders nearly untouchable and put premium value on pit timing and restarts.
  • Several headline drivers suffered costly setbacks at Indy — including Kyle Larson’s tire failure and Chase Elliott’s contact that produced DNFs or poor finishes — leaving teams to regroup during the coming off week before Iowa.