NASCAR redefines rookies, ruling out Heim for ’27

The designation of a NASCAR rookie has changed again.

Mike Forde, NASCAR’s vice president of racing communications, revealed as much during the latest episode of the Hauler Talk podcast. The conversation centered around whether Corey Heim will be eligible in 2027 as he goes full-time with 23XI Racing. Heim has been making Cup Series starts since 2024 and has two wins this season, including last month's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis (pictured above).

The new criteria, per Forde, is that in the Cup Series a driver can have no more than 12 starts prior to the season they want to declare for Rookie of the Year. It is 10 starts in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and eight in the Craftsman Truck Series.

A driver is not automatically eligible upon entering a new series and running it full-time for the first time. A team must apply for a driver to be a Rookie of the Year contender, and NASCAR will then consider the request.

The change in criteria comes after NASCAR had been performing a case-by-case review of requests. It resulted in some drivers having very few previous starts under their belts and others having a good amount but still being declared eligible.

Heim has made 15 starts in the Cup Series since 2024. He has four more starts left on his schedule for this season. Forde also revealed that Heim could have competed for Rookie of the Year this season, but did not apply for it.

The process for Rookie of the Year has changed many times over the years, and has not always been straightforward or easy to understand. While NASCAR has always had to review who is eligible for the award, there had previously been a set number of starts that a driver could not exceed, but that rule was set aside. It is now back.

The winner has been chosen in different ways, too. There once was a panel that decided, at season’s end, who was Rookie of the Year regardless of head-to-head stats. It now goes by the traditional point system.

“I think seven (starts) was always out there of if you passed that threshold of seven then the NASCAR rookie committee would be able to have a discussion,” Forde said. “They could say, ‘OK, he had eight, or he had nine or 10. He didn’t go that far above it. He wants to be a rookie and wants to shine a light on the program and on the series; it’s good for the sport for him to be a part of the rookie program.’ Then we’d allow that.

“But I think last year or the year before we kind of put a line in the sand and said, ‘Hey, let’s make it easy for everybody,’ because it did get for a good while there a little bit confusing on not understanding how this person is a rookie with 20 starts last year or whatever. We put some numbers and parameters on there.”

Connor Zilisch will win the Rookie of the Year award by default this season. Zilisch is the only driver in the running.