The part-time Cup drivers who have beaten the odds to win a modern NASCAR Cup race

​  Competing as a part-time driver was very common in the early years of the sport, with drivers even winning championships without committing to the full schedule.But as the years went by and NASCAR moved into the modern age, the chances of a part-time driver and team prevailing at the top level of the sport became increasingly rare. It didn’t happen at all in the 1990s, and since the turn of the 21st century, it’s only happened nine times.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAt Naval Base Coronado in San Diego last weekend, Corey Heim became the most recent, and the first since SVG did it three years ago. But who else showed up as a part-time driver and captured a checkered flag over the past 25 years of NASCAR racing, and how did they do it? Let’s take a look…Watch: Heim takes late lead, wins at CoronadoMaking just his 13th career start and his sixth of the 2026 season, the 2025 NASCAR Truck Series champion was driving a fourth, unchartered entry for 23XI Racing. He qualified 13th, but didn’t lead a single lap until his passed championship-leading teammate Tyler Reddick with three laps to go. He even bounced off the wall as the two made contact, but drove off to a 10.3 second win over teammate Bubba Wallace as Reddick fell out of contention with a flat tire. Also, he was the first driver to ever win a Cup race with the No. 67, doing so in its 650th race.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter the win: Heim has already secured a full-time ride with 23XI Racing for the 2027 season, replacing Riley Herbst, and still has a handful of starts left this year.Watch: ‘This is what you dream of’: Shane van Gisbergen wins debut raceThe three-time Supercars champion was making his NASCAR Cup debut with Trackhouse’s Project 91 program, which is a part-time unchartered entry the team uses to bring international racing stars with NASCAR. Kimi Raikkonen had driven it before SVG, while Helio Castroneves and Kevin Magnussen did so later. Van Gisbergen arrived on the scene at an all-new street course and immediately had the pace. In wet conditions, he excelled, and even after getting on the wrong end of the strategy game, he surged from 18th to first in the final 30 laps of the race. He was the first driver in over 60 years to win a Cup race on debut.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter the win: SVG left his career in Supercars and moved to the United States, becoming a full-time NASCAR driver for Trackhouse. He has since shattered multiple records on road and street courses with multiple wins, and even earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2025. He has adapted to ovals quickly as well, recently earning his first oval top five at the Cup level.Watch: Allmendinger: ‘We just won at Indy … let’s go!’AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAllmendinger has been in and out of the Cup Series several times throughout his career. He found a career resurgence with Kaulig Racing, and was competing full-time for them in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series i      ​Read More Feedzy