The NASCAR Cup Series Silly Season for 2025 was kicked into high gear when it was announced that Stewart-Haas Racing will shut down its entire program at the end of the 2024 season.
With its demise comes the sale of three of its four charters. While the charter agreement is still being worked out for 2025 and beyond, there are still some players in the bid for its charters.
Those bids could affect the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Silly Season – and as it stands, really the only major puzzle piece in question for 2025 for the Truck Series.
Much like the end of the 2023 season, it’s largely been thought that Corey Heim will not be in the Truck Series come the following season. His talent level is too high to just keep him in the Truck Series. It’s pretty much guaranteed at this point that Heim will move up the NASCAR ladder after surprising everyone and staying in the Truck Series for 2024.
Heim was seen as the favorite to take over John Hunter Nemechek‘s No. 20 NASCAR Xfinity Series seat at Joe Gibbs Racing for 2024 when Nemechek was promoted back to Cup. However, Heim decided to stay another year in the Truck Series. That move directly caused Jesse Love, widely seen as Heim’s heir in the No. 11 TRICON Garage truck and Toyota’s top prospect, to leave Toyota and join Chevrolet, driving Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 in Xfinity.
This year is different though. To keep Heim in the Truck Series for a third full-time season would be wasting his talent. He has to move up. However, unlike last year, when we all thought he’d go Xfinity Series racing, he may move straight to the top.
Heim currently serves as the reserve driver and sim driver for two different Cup teams – 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club. Both teams have been rumored to purchase a charter from SHR and open a third full-time team.
As my colleague Michael Massie mentioned, Heim could be in the running for both teams. While 23XI has been mentioned as the larger candidate for an SHR charter, it’s difficult to rule out either organization.
Heim has already made two Cup starts this season, both in Legacy’s No. 43 while Erik Jones sat out with a broken back. He will also make a start with 23XI at Nashville Superspeedway this Sunday (June 30), driving the part-time No. 50 as race two of the three-race celebration of Mobil 1’s 50th anniversary (Kamui Kobayashi drove the car at Circuit of the Americas).
It wouldn’t be too surprising if…
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