Denny Hamlin reacts to 'dominance' of Justin Allgaier, Corey Heim

Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, Denny Hamlin has had his eyes on two wheelmen in the Xfinity Series and Truck Series. Justin Allgaier and Corey Heim have been fantastic in 2025, and the veteran driver is taking notice of their success.

Both drivers were victorious this past weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was Allgaier’s first of the season, although he’s come close throughout the first month of the season. As for Heim, he won at Daytona International Speedway earlier in February, so he has two trophies already in 2025.

They’re certainly at different points in their careers, but Allgaier and Heim have been impressive all the same. During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin heaped praise on the duo, believing this could be the start of two incredible runs.

“Just the dominance of Allgaier is really impressive,” Hamlin said, following the JR Motorsports wheelman’s win in the Xfinity Series. “It’s great to see, you know — I don’t know how old Justin is, but he’s just — it seems like he’s getting better, and he’s done it with multiple crew chiefs over the last few years. So, they’re running great. He’s younger than I thought. I thought he was at least 40 by now. He’s been in the sport, it seems like, for as long as I have. But yeah, they just — they were the best car. Dominated.

“Heim, I thought, was the best truck. The best driver on that day. So, I didn’t think — I didn’t really come out of the Trucks or Xfinity thinking, ‘Oh, wow.'”

While Allgaier has already spent some time in the Cup Series, Heim seems to be earmarked for a ride with Hamlin’s 23XI Racing team. He’s already going to be running some races for the squad in 2025, so it’s easy to see why Hamlin is smitten with the 22-year-old.

“Yeah, we’re excited about this,” Hamlin said, regarding Heim racing for 23XI in the Cup Series this season. “…He raced for us at Nashville last year. Drove from the back of the pack to the top 12 before we had nine green/white checkers. He did a great job for us and obviously has been part of the Toyota Racing developmental program for many, many years now. 

“For us, we’re going to run him in some races this year, going to run him in some more races next year and just see where the future holds for him. We’re excited to give him that opportunity. He deserves it. I’m glad that he chose 23XI. He probably could have taken some other offers that would have put him in a Cup car sooner, but he chose to be part of our program, and we’re excited to field cars for him. I think he’s ready.”

All told, Justin Allgaier and Corey Heim have impressed in 2025. They have Denny Hamlin’s attention, and the duo could be in the midst of a championship chase as the season progresses. We’ll see if they can stay on the same trajectory moving forward.