Tag: Corey Heim

Corey Heim returns to TRICON Garage in NASCAR Truck Series for 2025

Corey Heim will return to the No. 11 truck for TRICON Garage in the NASCAR Truck Series during the 2025 season.

[autotag]Corey Heim[/autotag] is returning to the NASCAR Truck Series for his third full-time season. On Thursday morning, [autotag]TRICON Garage[/autotag] announced that Heim will drive the No. 11 truck for the organization during the 2025 season. The TRICON Garage driver has six wins in 2024 and will compete for his first Truck Series championship at Phoenix Raceway this weekend.

Heim has been the class of the Truck Series field alongside Christian Eckes, who will move to Kaulig Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next year. Without Eckes’ presence, Heim could be poised to win a significant amount of races in 2025 as the clear leader of the series. Overall, Heim has 11 wins in 63 career starts, which is a 17.5 win percentage.

NASCAR silly season is beginning to take the focus with 2024 almost over, but Heim’s future is now secured. It will be interesting to see who can step up in Eckes’ absence to challenge Heim, as the drivers have a combined 10 wins in 2024. Heim will go into 2025 hoping to defend a Truck Series championship that he wants to win at Phoenix to close out 2024.

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NASCAR Truck Series starting lineup for playoff race at Homestead in 2024

Check out the NASCAR Truck Series starting lineup for the 2024 Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend!

Homestead-Miami Speedway is next for the NASCAR Truck Series, and TRICON Garage will lead the field to the green flag. [autotag]Corey Heim[/autotag] won the pole for the 2024 Baptist Health 200 at Homestead this weekend. Taylor Gray will join Heim on the front row for Saturday afternoon’s event. It is Heim’s first pole position of the 2024 NASCAR season.

Rajah Caruth and Nick Sanchez will follow the two drivers on the second row. Most notably, Tyler Ankrum, Connor Zilisch, Ben Rhodes, William Sawalich, Corey Day, Matt Crafton, and Tanner Gray all qualified 15th or worse for Saturday’s event. Gray, who will start in 33rd place, is the worst of the group.

The full starting lineup is available below.

NASCAR Truck Series starting lineup, 2024 Baptist Health 200 at Homestead:

  1. No. 11 Corey Heim (P)
  2. No. 17 Taylor Gray (P)
  3. No. 71 Rajah Caruth (P)
  4. No. 2 Nick Sanchez (P)
  5. No. 98 Ty Majeski (P)
  6. No. 45 Kaden Honeycutt
  7. No. 43 Daniel Dye
  8. No. 19 Christian Eckes (P)
  9. No. 9 Grant Enfinger (P)
  10. No. 7 Connor Mosack
  11. No. 41 Bayley Currey
  12. No. 52 Stewart Friesen
  13. No. 38 Layne Riggs
  14. No. 25 Dawson Sutton
  15. No. 18 Tyler Ankrum (P)
  16. No. 75 Connor Zilisch
  17. No. 77 Chase Purdy
  18. No. 5 Dean Thompson
  19. No. 99 Ben Rhodes
  20. No. 1 William Sawalich
  21. No. 91 Corey Day
  22. No. 88 Matt Craton
  23. No. 66 Conner Jones
  24. No. 42 Matt Mills
  25. No. 56 Timmy Hill
  26. No. 13 Jake Garcia
  27. No. 33 Lawless Alan
  28. No. 44 Conor Daly
  29. No. 02 Nathan Byrd
  30. No. 04 Marco Andretti
  31. No. 22 Frankie Muniz
  32. No. 46 Justin Mondeik
  33. No. 15 Tanner Gray
  34. No. 76 Spencer Boyd

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Heim completes Truck Series season sweep at Kansas

Corey Heim won Friday night’s Kubota Tractor 200 in the fastest truck, but he needed help from fellow Playoff driver Ty Majeski to secure the victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Round of 10 elimination race at Kansas Speedway. Majeski ran …

Corey Heim won Friday night’s Kubota Tractor 200 in the fastest truck, but he needed help from fellow Playoff driver Ty Majeski to secure the victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Round of 10 elimination race at Kansas Speedway.

Majeski ran out of fuel approaching the white flag while leading, allowing Heim to surge past in his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota and claim his sixth victory of the season in a race that saw reigning series champion Ben Rhodes and Playoff rookie Daniel Dye eliminated from title contention.

Under the third and final caution on lap 78 of the 134-lap race, Majeski came to pit road for tires and fuel, along with ThorSport Racing teammate Rhodes and eventual fourth-place finisher Kaden Honeycutt.

Heim, runner-up Layne Riggs and third-place finisher Christian Eckes stayed on track during the caution and made green-flag pit stops within the final 30 laps. Heim, who started the race from the rear of the field after hitting the outside wall and cutting a tire in practice earlier in the day, was chasing Majeski when the latter ran out of fuel.

Majeski, who had clinched a berth in the Round of 8 with his win in Stage 1, rolled home in 15th, the last driver on the lead lap.

“We were the best truck all night. It’s my favorite track; I love coming here,” said Heim, who won at the 1.5-mile speedway in the spring. “I look forward to this. I had a smile on my face all week coming to this place.

“I just thought we could sweep the year here. It’s an awesome place to come. I certainly thought we had it lost there to the No. 98 (Majeski), almost making it on fuel, but it just shows my team made the right call.”

 

The victory was Heim’s second at Kansas and the 11th of his career. He led a race-high 64 laps in an event that featured 10 lead changes among three drivers.

Heim, Eckes and Nick Sanchez had clinched spots in the Round of 8 in the second race of the Round of 10 at Bristol. Majeski, seventh-place finisher Rajah Caruth, ninth-place Grant Enfinger, 14th-place Tyler Ankrum and 18th-place Taylor Gray advanced on points Friday night.

In the closing laps, there was real suspense regarding the fortunes of two-time series champion Rhodes and Enfinger. Rhodes was on the same strategy as Majeski and ran as high as third as the race neared its conclusion.

Enfinger gained positions as Rhodes lost them in the late going, and the die was cast when Rhodes ran out of fuel.

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“We qualified fourth, and at the start of the race—massive changes with the truck,” said Rhodes, who won titles in 2021 and 2023. “We could not get it tightened up… Still kind of unacceptable. If we’d have gotten our stage points, it would have taken care of itself.”

Rhodes came home 22nd after running out of fuel and fell 25 points short of Enfinger for the final spot in the Round of 8.

“It was definitely a little bit stressful, definitely too close for comfort there,” Enfinger said. “This is a round we want to forget. We snuck through here, and now we’re looking forward to going to Talladega next week [for the first race in the Round of 8].”

Dye scraped the outside wall twice during the first stage and made multiple pit stops, falling three laps down. He finished 27th and, like Enfinger, was 25 points away from advancing to the next round.

Riggs, who didn’t qualify for the Playoffs in his rookie season, added the runner-up finish to his two victories in the previous two races.

Dawson Sutton ran fifth, followed by Tanner Gray, Caruth, Bayley Currey, Enfinger and Connor Mosack.

RESULTS

Legacy Motor Club ‘unlikely’ to sign this rising NASCAR star for 2025

Legacy Motor Club is “unlikely” to sign this rising NASCAR star for the 2025 Cup Series season. See why is is unlikely in 2025!

[autotag]Legacy Motor Club[/autotag] has one of its two seats lined up for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season as John Hunter Nemechek is under contract. However, Erik Jones is likely to return but doesn’t have a contract. The NASCAR organization has slowly been improving, but Jones isn’t locked in. If he does leave, don’t expect this rising NASCAR star to take over the No. 43 car.

According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Legacy Motor Club is “unlikely” to sign Corey Heim if the No. 43 car were to open up for 2025. Heim is reportedly eyeing a ride at 23XI Racing in the next few years. The TRICON Garage driver is the reserve driver for Legacy Motor Club and made two starts in the No. 43 car while Jones recovered from his back injury.

Heim is likelier to return to the NASCAR Truck Series or jump to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025. The Truck Series driver has been impressive in the No. 11 Toyota, with five wins in 15 races. Legacy Motor Club hopes that Jones stays in the No. 43 car, but in the event of his departure, Heim would likely not be an option.

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Corey Heim’s future in NASCAR receives a big update for the 2025 season

Corey Heim’s future in NASCAR receives a big update for the 2025 season. Where could Heim be racing in NASCAR when 2025 arrives?

[autotag]Corey Heim[/autotag] is lighting the NASCAR Truck Series world on fire alongside Christian Eckes, who has also proven that he is ready to make the jump. Heim has been frequently connected to 23XI Racing’s third car as the team is expected to acquire a charter for the 2025 season. However, the TRICON Garage driver may not be in 23XI Racing’s plans for a full-time ride next year.

According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Heim is staying in the Toyota camp and expects him to make more NASCAR Cup Series starts in 2025. However, it won’t be an entire season and depends on how many races Martin Truex Jr. would run with 23XI Racing. Heim would likely be full-time in one of NASCAR’s lower levels, with Pockrass leaning toward the Truck Series.

Heim deserves to compete full-time in the Cup or Xfinity Series, but it’s clear that 23XI Racing holds his talent in high regard. While he may not drive full-time for the NASCAR team in 2025, there will likely be a plan for him to compete in the Cup Series. Heim is one of NASCAR’s top prospects, and his performance will only keep improving in 2025 either way.

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Heim unfazed by rain and dominates Truck Series at Pocono

Corey Heim earned his series’ best fifth victory of the season in Friday evening’s rain-interrupted CRC Brakleen 175 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The 21-year old swept both stages and led 55 of the 70 laps to add to his trophy total, but he had to …

Corey Heim earned his series’ best fifth victory of the season in Friday evening’s rain-interrupted CRC Brakleen 175 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The 21-year old swept both stages and led 55 of the 70 laps to add to his trophy total, but he had to battle competitors and climate for this win.

The Georgian’s No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota led Grant Enfinger’s Chevrolet across the finish line by 0.867s to take his 10th career victory – quickly re-establishing himself as the race leader – again – on the final re-start with three laps remaining.

 

“It started from the very beginning; we’ve had such a close bond,’’ Heim said of his strong working relationship with crew chief Scott Zippidelli and the career-best single season win mark.

“Week in and week out, so proud of these guys; can’t say enough about them,’’ Heim said.

Rain drops covered the windshields of the trucks – particularly in Turn 2 of the 2.5-mile Pocono track – and eventually brought out a caution flag for weather with only nine laps remaining in the race. After parking on pit road for just over 10 minutes of red-flag stoppage, the field returned to the track for a lap only to come back down pit road again as the rain got heavier with seven laps remaining.

Not surprisingly Heim immediately told his crew the rain was substantial. Enfinger, who was 2.2s behind Heim at the time of the initial red flag, was optimistic it was going to be a brief shower. NASCAR had already determined before the green flag that the race would be official no matter the circumstance at 8:20 p.m. ET – approximately one hour and 10 minutes after the first red flag waved Friday evening.

But the sun shone on the restart allowing enough laps to complete the race – a light rain beginning again during driver’s post-race interviews.

Enfinger’s second-place finish equals his best mark of the year – also at North Wilkesboro, N.C. – and certainly helped solidify the CR7 Motorsports driver’s position in the Playoff standings. He is seventh place with only two races remaining before the 2024 Playoffs begin Aug. 25 at the Milwaukee Mile Speedway.

McAnally Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes finished third, followed by TRICON Garage’s Taylor Gray and NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain, driving for Niece Motorsports.

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The closing laps featured close racing up front with many among the lead pack having to be conscious about saving fuel – a variable then made moot with the rain stoppage. Heim was trying to hold off the hard-charging, highly-motivated veteran Enfinger, who was racing for his first win of the season while Eckes had to hold off Chastain for third place.

The pole-winner Eckes led the race’s opening 11 laps in the No. 19 McAnally Hilgemann Chevy and finished second to race-winner Heim in both stages. A slow pit stop during the second stage break forced Eckes to play catch-up. He restarted 10th but was up to fourth place within five laps and continued to move forward.

He rallied to that ultimate third-place showing giving him a series best 12-race streak of top-10 finishes and he still holds a 32-point edge on Heim for the regular season championship.

The first caution flag for a race incident came out with 26 laps remaining when Rajah Caruth spun on track. At the time Heim led Chastain by almost 3s . As the trucks drove under caution, drivers were alerted that rain was imminent, so the front-runners did not pit.

Chase Purdy, Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Dean Thompson and Caruth rounded out the top 10.

With only two races remaining to set the 10-driver Playoff field, Daniel Dye holds a single-point edge on Tanner Gray in that 10th position and a slight four-point advantage over Friesen.

Only four full-time series drivers have won this season to claim automatic Playoff berths including Heim, Eckes, Friday’s 13th place finisher Nick Sanchez and Caruth.

The Craftsman Truck Series moves to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park for Friday’s TSport 200 (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Ty Majeski won last year’s race by more than 3s over Eckes. Championship leader Heim was eighth.

RESULTS

Legacy Motor Club linked to rising Toyota driver for 2025 NASCAR season

Legacy Motor Club has been linked to a rising Toyota driver for the 2025 NASCAR season. Who could drive the No. 43 car if Erik Jones leaves?

[autotag]Legacy Motor Club[/autotag] may have a different driver lineup when the Daytona 500 arrives in February 2025. It was recently reported that Erik Jones is not under contract with Legacy Motor Club for the 2024 season. While the NASCAR team would likely want Jones to return, it’s not for certain. If he were to leave the No. 43 car, one rising Toyota prospect has been linked to the ride.

According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Corey Heim would be a possibility for Legacy Motor Club if Jones moved on to another team next year. Heim is the reserve driver for 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 21-year-old driver also runs full-time for TRICON Garage in the Truck Series and part-time for Sam Hunt, racing in the Xfinity Series.

Heim would be a good option for 23XI Racing, but it will come down to sponsorship and whether the team believes he is ready for the opportunity. Legacy Motor Club is rebuilding its race team after moving to Toyota, and Heim would be a great building block. It depends entirely on Jones’ decision, but Heim could drive for Jimmie Johnson in 2025.

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Heim rebounds with another Truck Series win at wet WWTR

The early bird got the victory on Saturday afternoon at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. In a long green-flag run to start the final stage of the Toyota 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, Corey Heim brought his No. 11 TRICON Garage …

The early bird got the victory on Saturday afternoon at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

In a long green-flag run to start the final stage of the Toyota 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race, Corey Heim brought his No. 11 TRICON Garage Tundra to pit road before any of the other top trucks made green-flag stops, and the move paid off with optimum track position.

Heim held the top spot for a restart on lap 138 of 160 and led the rest of the way, beating runner-up Christian Eckes to the finish line by 1.854s, earning a $50,000 bonus as the winner of the second leg of the Triple Truck Challenge.

The victory was a welcome turnaround after Heim’s truck was disqualified from second place May 24 at Charlotte for three lug nuts not safe and secure. Heim won for the fourth time this season—all within the last eight races—the second time at Gateway and the ninth time in 53 career starts.

“Total team effort today,” Heim asserted. “We struggled a bit yesterday (in practice and qualifying) and worked a bit overnight on it. I have to say the pit crew redeemed themselves. Last week we could have won the race, and they made some mistakes, but they redeemed themselves today, and that’s what it’s all about.”

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Heim started ninth and finished fifth in the first two stages. After a quick pit stop at the Stage 2 break, Heim restarted third on lap 78 and grabbed the lead before the end of the circuit. He held the top spot until he pitted on lap 115, one lap earlier than pole winner Ty Majeski who was chasing him in second place.

Vicente Salas’ spin on lap 129 interrupted the cycle of green-flag stops, but Heim regained the lead on lap 134 when drivers who had not yet pitted brought their trucks to pit road under the caution. Heim battled Majeski on the lap 138 restart and prevailed.

“Corey was a little bit better, and I knew it,” said Majeski, who swept the first two stages and led 43 laps to Heim’s race-high 65. “I thought if I could get track position on him, maybe I could hold him off. I threw it into Turn 1, and he cleared me off of [Turn] 2, and I had a couple other opportunities.

“I got into him a little bit. Probably needed a little bit harder for me to get enough of a run to get side-by-side with him down the back. But, yeah, just a little bit short balance-wise. Sometimes when you’re the best truck in the beginning of the race, you’re gun-shy to make changes.”

 

Majeski faded to fourth in the final 23 laps, losing positions to Eckes and third-place finisher Nick Sanchez on lap 151.

Eckes lost track position with a slow pit stop in the second stage break, restarted 11th on lap 78 and finished second at Gateway for the third straight year.

“I definitely feel like we let that one slip,” Eckes said. “Disappointing, for sure… It sucks. I thought we had the best truck here.”

Layne Riggs finished fifth, followed by Chase Purdy, reigning series champion Ben Rhodes and Stewart Friesen. Two drivers making their series debuts—Andres Perez de Lara and Luke Fenhaus—came home ninth and 10th, respectively.

Note: The start of the race was delayed for two-and-a-half hours by rain… The final Triple Truck Challenge race is scheduled for June 28 at Nashville Superspeedway. Heim and Sanchez, last week’s Charlotte winner, could collect an additional $100,000 as the winners of two of three events in “The Trip.” A $50,000 bonus is available to all other drivers.

RESULTS

Heim dominates rain delayed Truck Series at North Wilkesboro

Corey Heim dominated Saturday’s weather-delayed Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, but the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota had to share the spotlight with his teammate, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, who finished fourth in his …

Corey Heim dominated Saturday’s weather-delayed Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, but the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota had to share the spotlight with his teammate, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, who finished fourth in his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut.

Heim grabbed the lead from Jake Garcia after a restart on lap 186 of 250 and held it the rest of the way to win for the third time this season, the first time at North Wilkesboro and the eighth time in his career.

Crossing the finish line 2.474s ahead of runner-up Grant Enfinger, Heim trimmed the series lead of sixth-place finisher Christian Eckes to four points in a race that was halted on Saturday by extreme weather after 81 laps and resumed on Sunday after a red-flag period of 21 hours, six minutes, 14 seconds.

 

When five inches of rain fell during a 90-minute stretch on Saturday, Heim’s truck was all but submerged at the legendary short track, which experienced drainage issues during the deluge.

“Of course, we hoped for no water damage,” Heim said. “The truck was submerged in almost three feet of water—we picked probably the worst pit box in that scenario, but obviously you can never really intend on something like that happening.

“I’ve never seen so much rain come down in an hour in my life. That was crazy, but eventually we were able to wipe it down and make sure there was no damage, and I was able to recover from that, for sure.”

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Layne Riggs came home third, holding off Queen in the late going, but Queen enjoyed the raucous support of “Bean Nation” as soon as he climbed from his No. 1 Toyota. To finish fourth, Queen had to overcome a pit road speeding penalty incurred under caution on lap 118.

“Oh, man, I can’t believe it,” said Queen, who restarted 26th on lap 124 and worked his way back through the field. “We got that speeding penalty. I thought I was conservative on the lights, and it just got us—rookie mistake.

“But I told the team I was going to get ‘em back in position, and we did.”

The season-best second-place finish was a welcome result for Enfinger, who leaves the 0.625-mile short track eighth in the series standings, 170 points behind Eckes.

“We haven’t been performing to our ability or our standards,” said Enfinger. “I feel like last week at Darlington was the turning point in our season (despite a 16th-place finish). I’m standing by that.

“Very, very proud of this truck. Proud of our pit crew all year long. Finally, we have a little bit of a result to show for it.”

Riggs got his first top five of the season in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.

“We really, really needed this finish,” Riggs said. “It was a great day for us, and I hope we can continue to build on this momentum.”

Varying pit strategies produced considerable movement with the field throughout the race. Heim restarted 13th on lap 124 but methodically worked his way up the running order. On lap 175 he passed Riggs for second place, and after Conner Jones spun in Turn 4 to cause the sixth of seven cautions on lap 177, Heim shot past Garcia on the lap 186 restart.

Staying out on older tires, Ty Majeski won the first stage of the race. Using the same strategy, Tyler Ankrum triumphed in Stage 2. But Heim had the fastest truck and quickly proved it after the second stage break.

Moonlighting from the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Sammy Smith finished fifth, followed by Eckes, Nick Sanchez, Ankrum, Daniel Dye and Stewart Friesen.

RESULTS

Heim set for third 23XI Cup Series entry at Nashville

Corey Heim will drive a third 23XI Racing entry at Nashville Superspeedway in June. Heim, who is a reserve driver for 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club, will be in the black and gold No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry. The organization is fielding a third …

Corey Heim will drive a third 23XI Racing entry at Nashville Superspeedway in June.

Heim, who is a reserve driver for 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club, will be in the black and gold No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry. The organization is fielding a third car in select NASCAR Cup Series races in collaboration with Mobil 1 and Toyota Racing Development as the oil brand celebrates its 50th anniversary.

“I’m very thankful for this opportunity I’ve been given by Mobil 1 to compete with 23XI in Nashville,” Heim said. “Through my time with Toyota, I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people, including those from Mobil 1. We have seen this season how strong 23XI’s Camrys have been, which makes me even more excited to get behind the wheel in Nashville. I’m putting in the effort to be prepared for this opportunity and cannot wait to get on track with the No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota team in a few weeks.”

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Heim has already made two Cup Series starts. He filled in for the injured Erik Jones at Dover Motor Speedway (April 28) and Kansas Speedway (May 5).

The 21-year-old Heim is a full-time competitor in the Craftsman Truck Series with TRICON Garage. Heim has two wins through the first eight races in the Truck Series and leads the point standings.

“We are excited for Corey to join the 23XI team in Nashville as he helps us celebrate our partners at Mobil 1 and its 50th anniversary,” said Steve Lauletta, President of 23XI Racing. “Corey is undoubtedly an up-and-coming star, and we look forward to working with him as he prepares to race at Nashville. Mobil 1 has a history of working with some of the best young talent in racing, and I can’t think of a better person than Corey to drive the No. 50 Toyota at Nashville.”

23XI Racing first fielded the No. 50 Toyota at Circuit of The Americas in March for Kamui Kobayashi.