Teenage racing phenom Heim comes to Western Pa. for 1st time

More than a decade ago, Ray Heim tore it up on the asphalt racing track at Lanier National Speedway in Braselton, Ga., and the Pittsburgh area native, who lived in West Deer and Verona and graduated from Riverview, enjoyed numerous top finishes.

His son, Corey, watched on at the track and quickly developed his own love of racing.

From age 5, when he first started his own racing journey, Corey, who turns 18 on Sunday, has become one of stock car racing’s young guns. Wins and other top-five place finishes attest to his mission to be the best.

“I’ve always been interested in NASCAR, and I grew up watching it with my dad cheering on our favorite drivers,” said Corey, a lifelong Georgia resident and recent graduate of Kennesaw Mountain High School in Marietta.

“He started racing Legends cars when I was 2 or 3. We would go to the track on a weekly basis in the summertime. He surprised me for Christmas when I was 5 with a quarter midget car. I went to the racetrack, and it got started. From that time to now, I’ve been in love with racing. I never wanted it to be any different.”

This weekend, Corey, who said he prides himself in being a Steelers, Penguins and Pirates fan, will get a chance to race near Pittsburgh for the first time as he fires up his No. 78 late model stock car at the Thomas Automotive American Freedom 300 at the Jennerstown Speedway Complex near Johnstown.

The race is part of the professional CARS Solid Rock Carriers Tour stock car auto racing series. He hopes to make it a great birthday weekend with a trip to victory lane in the event that pays $20,000 to the winning driver.

The race can be streamed live at carstour.tv.

“We travel to Pittsburgh to visit family pretty much every year,” Corey said. “They pretty much watch every race they can or pay attention with stuff online. It will be pretty cool to race with a number of family members in attendance.”

Corey’s mother, Lisa, a Park Ridge, Ill., native, attended Pitt for nursing.

Corey competes on the CARS Tour for Lee Pulliam Performance, based out of Alton, Va.

He also is a member of Venturini Motorsports (Concord, N.C.) on the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Menard Series which features three series schedules — national, east and west.

ARCA is considered somewhat of a feeder series into the three national touring series of NASCAR.

As Corey Heim reached his teenage years, he started racing Legends cars and transitioned into late models in 2017. He scored a third-place finish at the famous half-mile oval in Bristol, Tenn., and took second in a race at Martinsville, Va.

“Since Corey started picking it up, there’s been nothing better to see,” said Ray Heim, who travels with his son to the different weekend races. “He is so dedicated to becoming a better driver. He takes every racing experience and builds on it.”

Corey Heim’s first stock car win came in a NASCAR Whelan All-American Series race at South Boston (Virginia) Speedway in August 2018.

“I don’t know if there was any specific moment where I realized racing could be a career for me,” he said. “I’ve just always aspired to grow in racing. I’ve always loved the competition and the rush that racing give you.”

He made his ARCA debut last season for Chad Bryant Racing (Mooresville, N.C.) and finished fifth in his debut at the Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. He earned eight top-five finishes, including a season-best third in races in both Illinois and Indiana.

“Most of last year was just learning more about those heavier stock cars,” Corey said. “Ten or 11 of the race tracks I ran last year I had never been to or seen before. So, there were a lot of adjustments. I also learned a lot about being a professional racer and adapting to the progression if I want to move to the NSACAR Truck series or Xfinity series.”

He opened the 2020 season with a first-place finish in a Super Late Model race in Cordele, Ga., in late January and raced his No. 20 Toyota to seventh in the ARCA Menards Series East season opener Feb. 10 at the New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.

Corey competed five times this year before racing was halted in March because of the growing coronavirus crisis. Testing and iRacing kept him focused through the two-month break, and he got back into his competition cars in May.

He returned to the top spot with a win worth $6,000 at a CARS Tour stop in Hickory, N.C., the weekend of June 13.

“The recent success I’ve had continues to push and motivate me to be the best I can be so I can do it for a career,” Corey said.

After this weekend’s Jennerstown race, Corey and his father will make the drive to Slinger, Wisc., for Tuesday’s 41st Slinger Nationals. NASCAR star Matt Kenseth won the 2019 event, and the Wisconsin native has taken the checkered flag there eight times.

Other NASCAR stars to race at the Slinger Nationals include Dale Earnhardt, Sterling Martin, Kyle Petty, Rusty Wallace, Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip and Kyle Bush.

“It’s going to be a long weekend with a lot of travel (to Wisconsin), but I think it’s going to be fun, and I am looking forward to it.”