Corey Heim is heading into his first full-time NASCAR Cup Series season with 23XI Racing in 2027, but there is one award he already knows he cannot win.
Heim is not eligible for Rookie of the Year because NASCAR now limits drivers to 12 Cup Series starts before their rookie season. Heim has already made 15 starts and has won twice, including the Brickyard 400, during his part-time Cup schedule.
Heim was clearly not happy about it. “You’re sort of losing value to that award,” he said after the Richmond race.
Heim believes the award loses some of its meaning when a driver who has already shown he can win Cup races is not even allowed to compete for it.
“If you’re gonna give someone a trophy and take a picture, make it worth something, and it’s losing its value,” Heim said. “But that’s just my opinion, and it’s not the end of the world, we’ll keep moving forward.”
The two wins make his situation even more unusual. Heim has only 15 Cup starts, but he has already beaten the field twice. Now he will start his first full-time season without even having a shot at Rookie of the Year.
Fans Question NASCAR’s 12-Start Rule
The rule has quickly become a talking point among NASCAR fans on social media.
One fan on X said the Rookie of the Year award had already “lost its luster” around 2010, suggesting the latest controversy is just another sign of its declining importance.
Another X user questioned why NASCAR should care whether Heim’s previous starts were scheduled or not. Their argument was simple: “The driver either runs the races or they don’t.” The fan also pointed out that Heim could end up with fewer starts than Ty Gibbs had around the beginning of his rookie season while still being unable to compete for the award.
Another fan was even more critical, saying, “No one creates unnecessary issues like nascar. JFC can the dude just get his Rookie of the year award? Like getting rid of rookie stripes, moving the car number, etc.. it’s just another in a line of dumb decision making and a key reason no one trusts nascar to make good decisions”
That’s not the opinion of the entire NASCAR fanbase, though.
Reddit has also seen plenty of discussion around the rule. Some users have questioned NASCAR’s consistency when compared with previous rookie cases, while others believe the 12-start limit is fair because Heim already has significant Cup experience and two wins.
That is the strongest argument for NASCAR’s side.
Someone with 15 Cup starts and two victories clearly has more experience than a driver making their first few Cup races. The 12-start limit gives NASCAR a straightforward cutoff and stops experienced part-time drivers from having a major advantage over genuine newcomers.
From Richard Petty to Jeff Gordon: Why the Award Still Matters
The Rookie of the Year award has a pretty impressive list of names attached to it.
Richard Petty won it in 1959. Dale Earnhardt followed in 1979, then Rusty Wallace in 1984, Jeff Gordon in 1993 and Tony Stewart in 1999. Kyle Busch won it in 2005, with Denny Hamlin taking the award the following year.
These are drivers went on to become some of the names in NASCAR.
That history is part of why Heim’s situation has been frustrating for some. He’s not eligible under NASCAR’s current rules, but he will still enter his first full-time Cup season with two wins already behind him.
Some think that makes the award less meaningful without him in the field. Others say that once a driver has 15 Cup starts and multiple wins, calling him a rookie simply does not make sense.
Either way, Heim’s case has exposed a difficult question for NASCAR: what should Rookie of the Year actually reward – a driver’s first Cup starts or his first full-time season?
Also Read:: Why NASCAR Fans Still Refuse to Respect Joey Logano And How He Now Races “4 the Haters”
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