MOTOR RACING: Corey Heim grabs surprise first win at Naval Base Coronado

SAN DIEGO — Corey Heim shocked the NASCAR circuit with his first career Cup Series victory Sunday afternoon, battling teammate Tyler Reddick and taking the checkered flag in the inaugural Anduril 250 road race at Naval Base Coronado.

Heim's No. 67 Toyota got alongside Reddick with just over two laps remaining in the 75-lap race. Shortly after, Reddick developed tire problems, allowing Heim to cruise ahead and lead a 1-2 finish for 23XI Racing. He beat teammate Bubba Wallace to the finish line by 10.365 seconds in an event slowed by seven caution periods.

The milestone victory came in just the 13th career Cup start for the 23-year-old Heim, who is the defending Craftsman Truck Series champion.

"I feel like for a while there he was playing with me because he was setting the pace as the lead car," said Heim, a Marietta, Georgia, native who joined legendary driver Jimmie Johnson in recording a first career win in a 13th start. "I was able to stick with him and not really burn my stuff up. When five to go came, it was time to put some pressure on him and see if he'd make a mistake, and sure enough he did. It feels like a dream. I hope I don't wake up from this dream."

Heim's win marked the fourth consecutive victory for Toyota. However, it snapped the three-race winning streak of Denny Hamlin, who brought his No. 11 Toyota home in 14th place. Hamlin now sits just eight points behind regular-season points leader Reddick, who recovered to finish 25th.

Kyle Larson, Zane Smith, and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top five.

In the third of four road races on NASCAR's Cup Series schedule, pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen led the opening three laps. However, Ryan Blaney moved past the road-course ace shortly before Jimmie Johnson's No. 84 Toyota slammed into a tire barrier to bring out an early yellow flag.

Blaney held off a hard-charging Wallace, who climbed to the runner-up position halfway through the 20 laps that comprised Stage 1. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott stalled on track and suffered a lengthy first pit stop.

Christopher Bell, fighting through a fractured left wrist, brought his car to pit road on Lap 13 for a scheduled driver change. Development driver Brent Crews hopped into the seat to take over the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

The field navigated its way around the unique 19-turn, 3.40-mile temporary street course, which featured scenic backdrops of an aircraft carrier, naval ships, and the San Diego bay.

A critical error by his pit crew resulted in Wallace losing a right-front tire under green-flag conditions, triggering the race's second caution. The mistake forced the opening segment to finish under yellow, with Blaney's No. 12 Ford leading Ryan Preece, Larson, Ty Gibbs, and Allmendinger at the green-checkered flag.

About halfway through Stage 2 on Lap 32, a chaotic restart triggered a massive nine-car accident near the front of the field. Austin Hill, Connor Zilisch, Gibbs, and van Gisbergen all wrecked heavily, causing severe damage to the outside barrier and prompting NASCAR officials to display the red flag.

"I got a pretty good start and then kind of backed out of it to let them go — didn't want to be three-wide," said van Gisbergen, who was seeking his eighth road-course win in just 15 starts. "Then, it was just not good from there."

Larson led late in Stage 2, but he pitted his No. 5 Chevrolet with two laps left in the segment. That handed the top spot over to Preece, who stayed out to claim the Stage 2 win. Riley Herbst, Chris Buescher, Allmendinger, and Blaney followed closely behind Preece's No. 60 Ford. -Field Level Media/Reuters