Corey Heim is all set to be a big conversation starter in this year’s championship discourse. He’s currently the points leader with just three starts of the five races. But the fact that Heim is a championship contender already, while he isn’t actually eligible to be a championship contender, might seem bizarre at first. Yet one look at his status in 2026, and the rules around it, and it makes sense to some while also leaving some scratching their heads.
Corey Heim would need what he can’t get to compete for the title
Heim, who was the Truck Series champion in 2025 on the back of 12 wins, decided to run a split schedule for 2026. That means that Heim wasn’t running as a full-timer in any of the three series, which means that he won’t be able to compete in a championship, technically. Unless he was granted a waiver.
After all, Heim is a big name for the Truck Series and one who has won twice already this season. In fact, in just three appearances out of 5, he has managed to accumulate enough points to be at the top of the standings. Therefore, him getting a waiver is the only way for him to make it to the Chase.
However, last year, NASCAR announced major changes to its waiver policy. The new rules stated that a driver who misses a race for non-medical or family reasons would lose all their playoff points from the regular season. And Heim has already missed two races, so he is automatically ineligible for the championship despite the season he’s having.
Bob Pockrass clarified this on X as he said, “You won’t get granted a waiver just for missing a race because you don’t have a ride.”
Interestingly, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had expressed his annoyance with the waiver business. He claimed that if a driver misses a race and doesn’t get points because of it, they simply shouldn’t get a waiver. “It had been a certain way for so many years, and then now you can miss races due to an injury and still run for a championship. And I just never really like thought that it was part of the deal,” he explained.
Earnhardt mentioned that the waiver was only there so a big-name driver doesn’t miss the postseason contention for the title.
However, the idea of Corey Heim being in the championship contention despite his status and the rules was one that divided the fans.
Fans argue over NASCAR allowing Heim a shot at the championship
One fan simply made their point around the points a driver earns as the biggest factor for their championship eligibility. “Points are points. If you manage to accumulate more than others in less starts then why be punished for it over technicalities? Especially with more focus on the full(er) season now,” the fan wrote.
Another fan was in agreement of Corey Heim being a championship contender based on his points as they wrote, “I think anyone that makes it in to the points positions necessary to race for the championship, regardless of how many races run, should be able to race for the championship.”
Heim currently has 190 points, level with Kaden Honeycut in second but with two fewer races to his name.
One fan simply claimed, “NASCAR would look really stupid if they don’t make him eligible lol.” This would probably be because of the waiver rule changes at the start of last season. Therefore an exception to those rules could hurt NASCAR’s image.
Another fan disagreed that Heim should be allowed to race for the championship. They argued that Heim made a choice at the start of 2026 as they wrote, “Before the 1st race @ Daytona, every participant in NASCAR’s 3 national divisions have a opportunity to declare which series they would participate in a championship. Corey Day & his management team did not have a full truck series sponsor so they opted for split schedule…”
A fan also emphasised their point around the rules as they simply stated, “No, rules are rules and they knew them going into the season.”
With that said, it’ll be interesting to see if NASCAR ends up making an exception of exceptions to allow Corey Heim to compete for the championship should he accumulate enough points for that.
