DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Craftsman Truck Series champion Corey Heim will not compete full-time in any NASCAR series this season, but he will take on a more difficult schedule that includes 12 total Cup Series races and starts in other series.
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In order to prepare for this challenge, Heim needed to take care of multiple factors. He needed sponsors to help secure the starts, so he reunited with Robinhood. He also expanded his personal services deal with Celsius to include associate sponsorship and a primary at Daytona in August.
Being mentally prepared for this challenge will be crucial for Heim, who has eight Cup starts to his name. But so will being physically prepared.
The races are longer, and the stresses on the body are greater. He will have to address some pain points as he takes on events ranging between 400 and 600 miles.
"I've been kind of struggling with some like core and hip stability in the past," Heim told FanBuzz ahead of his first Daytona 500 start.
"I've been working on that hard in the offseason. I've gotten a lot stronger, I feel like. So that's been kind of my weak point, though, in and out of the race car."
This is not a new concern for Heim, who returns to the Truck Series this weekend at EchoPark Speedway. He first noticed lingering hip issues in 2022 as he made 18 Truck starts and seven ARCA Menards Series starts.
He still won four total races, but he dealt with some pain during the second stages of various Truck Series starts.
"I had an issue with my hip, like, mobility not being very good," he explained. "I sit really deep in the car, so my legs are really stretched up inside the race car, and, like, my knees are kind of in my chest.
"My hips, like, lock up and basically either fall asleep or cramp really bad. I think a lot of it just came down to I lost strength in my hips and glutes and everything. So started working on that a lot and getting more mobile, but also stronger in those areas."
Keeping @CoreyHeim_ and the 67 team fueled on and off the track! Let's ride @celsiusofficial ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/rpDuxUwt2n
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) February 9, 2026
Heim has multiple training opportunities to address his concerns, both of which include working with some very knowledgeable coaches.
He can work at the Toyota Performance Center in Mooresville, North Carolina. This facility boasts a fully-stocked gym, a kitchen with nutrition guidance, a physical therapist, a licensed therapist for mental health needs, and many other resources.
He also has access to the training facility at 23XI Racing's headquarters, Airspeed, in nearby Huntersville. He can work on lifting to improve his strength, and he can also address some specific areas while working with Head of Athletic Performance Jason Meiring, who spent nine years with NBA players.
He chooses both paths; this is understandable considering how important the training aspect of the sport has become.
"I feel like, being with 23XI and Toyota, they kind of have seen it all," Heim said. "A lot of those guys have different backgrounds. Jason at 23XI comes from the Charlotte Hornets.
"So worked on a lot of basketball players, and that, obviously requires a lot of core strength."
So how exactly do these trainers work with Heim to build up the areas where he needs more strength? It's not like he can do the exact same program as every other driver in the Toyota lineup.
He will still lift; he just won't try to set a new personal best on a back squat or bench press. Sure, he still tries to build overall strength, but he also takes a more focused approach to his weekly schedule featuring dedicated lifting days and dedicated active recovery days. Heim has really gotten into bike riding recently.
"I do a decent amount of banded work, but kind of just focus on pretty generic movements as far as squatting and everything," he said.
"But also, really just keep my core engaged the whole time on front squats and lunges and stuff like that. Just a lot of stability stuff, one arm, one-legged things for stability. So that's kind of where the hips come into play."
First 500 in the books! Wish things played out our way at the end, but had a great @RobinhoodApp Camry all day.
Honored and thankful to be a part of it with @23XIRacing. Can’t wait for the next one! pic.twitter.com/F3xY1JWaGh
— Corey Heim (@CoreyHeim_) February 16, 2026
This training has paid off so far. Heim successfully completed the first race of his unique schedule. He took on the Daytona 500 and finished 2.5 miles shy of the full 500.
Now, he will take on 11 more Cup races, as well as other events in other NASCAR series while pursuing multiple goals. He will try to continue building his physical strength and try to continue gaining mental experience for his eventual move to a full Cup schedule.
