Every year plenty of youngsters try and move up the ranks of professional motorsports to make it to the NASCAR Cup Series. The icons who are seen as some of the best racers today, including Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney, were once green kids who were dying to be noticed. And they were. Now at the pinnacle of the sport, it is their turn to look down the ladder and identify potential stars.
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Talking to the press in Martinsville, Larson and Blaney were asked about who from the lower rungs of NASCAR was impressing them the most. Putting quite a bit of thought into it, Larson named Corey Heim as his pick. At 21 years of age, Heim drives full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series for Tricon Garage and part-time in the Xfinity Series for Sam Hunt Racing.
Larson said, “I feel like he’s really, really strong in the truck stuff. Even when he gets in the Xfinity cars, he runs super competitively. I don’t believe he’s got the funding and the resources that the JGR [Joe Gibbs Racing] cars have. So, I feel like he does a really good job.” Heim is yet to finish outside the top ten in the ongoing Truck Series season and grabbed a victory in COTA.
Continuing his answer, Larson named Corey Day as a driver with the potential to make it to the Cup Series someday. 18-year-old Day is currently a driver in Larson’s High Limit Sprint Car Series and has turned quite a few heads with his impressive performances. Showering praise on him earlier this year, Larson notably told former racer Kenny Wallace that the youngster was even better than he was at 18.
Ryan Blaney’s favorites to make it to the Cup Series
The defending champion was asked the same question that Larson was in his pre-race interview at Martinsville. Blaney mentioned that he followed the Xfinity and Truck Series closely to identify good drivers and mentioned a list of them who’d caught his attention. He noted how Christian Eckes, Rajah Caruth, and Nick Sanchez were doing a stupendous job in the Truck Series.
Moving up to the Xfinity Series, he said, “The Xfinity Series, I see Jesse Love. I think he’s really good. Sammy Smith, I think he’s super good. There’s a couple guys who came in this year full-time: Zane Smith and Hocevar. I think they’re really fast and have really good speed.” He concluded that though there were others who impressed him, these drivers stood out from them all.
