Corey Heim won the 2026 Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado on Sunday, taking his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in just 13 career starts. The 23-year-old from Marietta, Georgia drove the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing and led only the final three laps of a 75-lap race, but those were the three that mattered.
Twenty lead changes among 13 different drivers. Seven cautions. A nine-car crash that wiped out the pre-race favorite before the race was half over. And a finish that came down to a tire failure and a teammate battle that got messy in Turn 5. That is the 2026 Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado.
Bubba Wallace was second to give 23XI Racing a 1-2 result despite serving a two-lap penalty for a loose wheel. Kyle Larson was third for Hendrick Motorsports. Zane Smith and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top five.
Key Moments and Turning Points
The race changed on Lap 32.
Connor Zilisch and Austin Hill made contact exiting Turn 1, setting off a nine-car pileup that collected Shane van Gisbergen, Jimmie Johnson, and several others who had run up front early. A red flag came out. Tire barriers came into it. Nine minutes off-clock while they cleaned it all up. Hill took responsibility afterward: "That one's on me."
SVG had started from the pole, led eight laps, and was the driver everyone expected to be talking about on Sunday night. He finished 38th. He told reporters afterward: "I'm filthy." That is a fair summary.
The race then settled into a war of attrition across the back half. Ryan Blaney led 12 laps and won Stage 1. Ryan Preece won Stage 2. Neither was in the picture at the end.
With three laps left, Tyler Reddick was out front and Heim was right on him. Reddick slipped in Turn 2 on Lap 73 and Heim was through. They ran side by side through Turns 3 and 4. Reddick tried a crossover move into Turn 5, made contact with the No. 67, and moments later his left front tire gave out. Reddick dropped from first to 25th in the span of a few corners.
Heim pulled away and won by roughly 10 seconds over Wallace. He is the 209th driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race.
Christopher Bell started the race but exited after Lap 13 with a broken wrist. Brent Crews took over the No. 20 Toyota and finished 39th with gearbox trouble. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. brought out a late caution when fluid poured from his No. 47 Chevrolet with 15 laps remaining.
Pit Strategy and Race Strategy Breakdown
Naval Base Coronado is a temporary street circuit laid out on military base pavement. Tire wear was a factor all race long, and teams were guessing on compound selection and stint management from the start.
Blaney led the most laps and took Stage 1. Preece won Stage 2. The drivers who collected stage points were not the drivers who were there at the end, which is a consistent pattern on short, technical courses where track position and tire management collide.
Heim's crew chief Bootie Barker told him early in the race that the first two tire sets would be the worst and the car would come around. Heim hit the wall twice in the opening stages and kept grinding. He said afterward: "I'm speechless. Maybe I knocked some good into the car."
Bubba Wallace's crew made a wheel change error that triggered a two-lap penalty, which should have wrecked his day entirely. He drove back through the field in the second half and finished second. The No. 23 was clearly one of the fastest cars on the track in those final 35 laps.
Reddick's tire failure was a reminder that street courses punish aggression in the closing laps. He was running the limit to hold off his teammate and paid for it. He said afterward: "It definitely stings. Really needed a good points day." His points lead over Denny Hamlin shrank from a comfortable margin to just eight points.
Stats and Fun Facts
- Race distance: 75 laps / 255 miles at Naval Base Coronado
- Average race speed: 70.561 mph
- Race time: 3 hours, 36 minutes, 50 seconds
- Lead changes: 20 among 13 different drivers
- Cautions: 7 for 11 laps, plus 1 red flag on Lap 32
- Most laps led: Ryan Blaney (12), Kyle Larson (11), Tyler Reddick (9)
- Fastest lap: Kevin Magnussen (Trackhouse Racing)
- Stage 1 winner: Ryan Blaney
- Stage 2 winner: Ryan Preece
- Pole: Shane van Gisbergen (2:14.788)
- Weekend attendance: 125,000 fans across the full event
- Heim is the first part-time Cup Series driver to win a race since the charter era tightened up the field
- 23XI Racing's 1-2 finish is their second of the 2026 season
No Corey Heim win gear in the store yet, but we will have it. Sign up for the HappyHourRacing fan club to get first notice when win shirts and gear drop. In the meantime, browse the latest NASCAR gear we have in stock.
Who's Hot and Who's Not
Hot: Corey Heim. First Cup win at 23 years old. He is the reigning Craftsman Truck Series champion, a part-time Cup driver, and now a race winner in the top series. He started 13th on the grid in his 13th career Cup start. The number writes itself.
Hot: Bubba Wallace. Finished second despite a two-lap penalty for a wheel issue. The No. 23 had the pace to contend all day and Wallace drove it forward in the second half of the race. A result that easily could have been wrecked by a crew error turned into a podium.
Hot: Zane Smith. Fourth for Front Row Motorsports on a street course is a strong result. Smith keeps adding good finishes to a solid 2026 season.
Hot: AJ Allmendinger. Fifth at Coronado is his wheelhouse. He is one of the best road and street course drivers in the Cup field and delivered again.
Not: Tyler Reddick. He was in position to win with three laps to go and ended up 25th. The points lead is now eight over Hamlin. That is not a comfortable buffer heading into the summer stretch.
Not: Shane Van Gisbergen. Pole position, race favorite, 38th finisher. He dropped to 17th in the standings. Sonoma is next and he needs a win.
Not: Christopher Bell. Broken wrist, out on Lap 13. Bad timing heading into a stretch of races where he needed to build points.
Discussion Question
Reddick and Heim are teammates. With three laps to go, Reddick made contact trying to defend the lead against Heim, and blew his tire seconds later. Heim kept it together and won. Reddick fell to 25th.
Was that racing, or was Reddick out of line? And how does 23XI handle the debrief when one teammate costs the other a win? Drop your take in the comments.
