Kenny Wallace wasn't surprised by the idea that Corey Heim or Connor Zilisch could dominate a season and still come up short in Phoenix. The former Cup Series driver reminded fans that NASCAR championships have never been guaranteed for the drivers with the most wins.Both Heim and Zilisch enter the final stretch of 2025 with staggering records. Heim broke Greg Biffle’s 20-year-old Truck Series mark by scoring his 10th win at the Charlotte Roval, already locked into the Championship 4. Zilisch matched him the same weekend in Xfinity, collecting his 10th victory in what has become one of the most dominant rookie campaigns in series history.Yet both could still see their title hopes vanish in a single bad moment in the finale at Phoenix. Wallace has seen that story before. Speaking on his Coffee with Kenny show, he said:"In 1993, Rusty Wallace won 10 Cup races and lost the championship to Dale Earnhardt Sr. So, it is very easy to have the most wins and not win the championship. On Saturday, somebody said, 'wouldn't it be a shame if Corey Heim were to go to Phoenix and lose the championship with the most wins?' I said, 'what's that got to do with NASCAR?"Wallace went on to argue that when fans complain about NASCAR’s playoff “gimmick,” they often forget how the sport’s history is filled with examples of dominance that didn’t end with a title.Connor Zilisch (7) and Corey Heim (11) during the 2024 NASCAR Truck Series race. Source: GettyRusty’s 1993 season is not the sole instance. Despite his 10 victories, he lost the championship by 80 points to Earnhardt, who won just five races but scored more consistently. In 1970, Richard Petty won 18 times but finished second in the standings to Bobby Isaac, who had only 11.Kenny added that Connor Zilisch could find himself in the same position this fall as well."I got another one for you. What about Connor Zilich right now? Connor Zilich, he's won 10 races and he could lose the championship. So you can go back into any type of sport you want...we can dig as deep as we want to dig. But we're going to race on and we're going to determine the champion this year at Phoenix"While rare in the old points era, this uncertainty has become a talking point since the playoff system was introduced. Under the current playoff format, the Truck Series uses three elimination rounds while Xfinity and Cup run four. In each case, the champion is decided by a one-race shootout.Fans have pointed to recent seasons where the driver with the most wins failed to even reach the Championship 4. Kevin Harvick’s nine-win 2020 Cup campaign ended before Phoenix. In 2023, William Byron scored six wins, but Ryan Blaney won the finale. The year before, Joey Logano captured the Cup title despite Chase Elliott having more victories. Even Kyle Larson, a six-time winner in 2024, missed the Championship 4 entirely.Will Corey Heim join Connor Zilisch in the Cup Series in 2026Brent Crews (C), Connor Zilisch (R), and Corey Heim at The Glen. Source: GettyConnor Zilisch won’t need a championship to define his next step. The 19-year-old will replace Daniel Suarez at Trackhouse Racing in 2026, moving up to Cup on the strength of an Xfinity season where he has won eight of the last 11 races and carried JR Motorsports into the postseason as the top seed.Corey Heim, meanwhile, has established himself as the face of Toyota’s Truck program with the No. 11 Tricon Garage team. His playoff run this year has already delivered a record-breaking campaign, but the bigger picture for him lies with his ties to 23XI Racing. Signed to a driver development deal, Heim has split time at the team’s facility, joining Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick in competition meetings as the Cup organization makes its own playoff push.Corey Heim (11) leads Connor Zilisch in the NASCAR Truck Series EcoSave 250. Source: GettyIn 2026, Heim is expected to step into a part-time Cup role in the No. 67 Toyota. A full-season opportunity could hinge on the outcome of 23XI’s antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, with the team’s charter status still uncertain. Heim may also add Xfinity starts with Sam Hunt Racing, depending on sponsorship and scheduling.Both Corey Heim and Connor Zilisch are well-positioned to continue their climbs, but their immediate challenge remains to convert dominant seasons into titles at Phoenix. They may well end up winning their championships this fall, but if they don’t, Kenny Wallace has made the case that it would hardly be unprecedented.