Tag: Corey Heim

Heim fights through handling woes to win Truck Series at Kansas

Corey Heim took control of Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 in the final stage and charged to his second NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory of the season, despite fighting a loose handling condition in the closing stages. Heim took the lead …

Corey Heim took control of Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 in the final stage and charged to his second NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory of the season, despite fighting a loose handling condition in the closing stages.

Heim took the lead from Nick Sanchez on lap 70 of 134 at Kansas Speedway and stayed out front the rest of the way, gaining time thorough a cycle of green-flag pit stops in the middle of the final stage.

Runner-up Zane Smith, the 2022 series champion running a part-time Truck Series schedule this season, closed on Heim over the final 10 laps but ran was still 1.088s in arrears when Heim crossed the finish line.

The victory was Heim’s first at Kansas and the seventh of his career. The driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota claimed his first victory of the season on March 23 at the Circuit of The Americas road course in Austin, Texas.

“I can’t say enough about these guys at TRICON Garage, man,” said Heim, who has finished in the top 10 in all eight Truck Series races this season.

“Top to bottom, we executed so well today with the pit crew, everyone back at the shop…

“What a truck! It was free for most of the race, so I can’t say it was easy. Even with the balance I had, the truck had so much potential to get better. I’m kind of out of breath now—it was a handful those last 30 laps.”

 

Despite his second-place finish, Smith was disappointed with the result. After winning the second stage, Smith lost seven positions thanks to a slow stop under caution on pit road and couldn’t catch Heim to challenge for the win.

On lap 104, following a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Smith trailed Heim by 3.743s and cut all but roughly one second off that margin before the finish.

“You can’t lose [seven] spots on pit road,” said Smith, who was making his fourth start of the season in the No. 91 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet. “That one got away there.”

Christian Eckes finished third, followed by Kaden Honeycutt, whose fourth-place run was a career-best.

Brett Moffitt, the 2018 series champion, came home fifth in his first start of the season. Sanchez was sixth after starting from the rear of the field after his No. 2 Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection three times.

Tanner Gray, Dean Thompson, Daniel Dye and Matt Crafton completed the top 10.

Heim holds the series lead by seven points over Eckes.

Both Heim and Smith will race in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas, Heim as a substitute for injured Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones, and Smith in his full-time ride with Spire Motorsports.

RESULTS

Corey Heim wins Truck Series race at Kansas, full results and race recap

Corey Heim wins the NASCAR Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway. Check out the full results and race recap from Kansas!

The NASCAR Truck Series arrived at Kansas Speedway, and with the draft being a significant factor, the restarts were wild. The drivers had massive runs that made restarts really important. However, a green-flag run in the Final Stage determined the winner, and this race in Kansas represented a redemption for a TRICON Garage driver.

[autotag]Corey Heim[/autotag] won the Truck Series race at Kansas, marking his second win of the 2024 NASCAR season. Heim won Stage 1, and while Zane Smith claimed Stage 2, the No. 11 truck was the class of the field. Smith was catching Heim in the closing laps of the event at Kansas, but there wasn’t enough time to catch him.

Heim has arguably been the best driver in the Truck Series, and this performance at Kansas cemented his status in 2024. If a driver wants to claim the victory at Kansas in the playoffs, they must go through Heim.

Heart of America 200 finishing order:

  1. No. 11 Corey Heim
  2. No. 91 Zane Smith
  3. No. 19 Christian Eckes
  4. No. 45 Kaden Honeycutt
  5. No. 1 Brett Moffitt
  6. No. 2 Nick Sanchez
  7. No. 15 Tanner Gray
  8. No. 5 Dean Thompson
  9. No. 43 Daniel Dye
  10. No. 88 Matt Crafton
  11. No. 41 Bayley Currey
  12. No. 9 Grant Enfinger
  13. No. 71 Rajah Caruth
  14. No. 32 Bret Holmes
  15. No. 25 Ty Dillon
  16. No. 99 Ben Rhodes
  17. No. 13 Jake Garcia
  18. No. 38 Layne Riggs
  19. No. 66 Cam Waters
  20. No. 16 Tyler Ankrum
  21. No. 02 Mason Massey
  22. No. 56 Timmy Hill
  23. No. 42 Matt Mills
  24. No. 46 Thad Moffitt
  25. No. 52 Stewart Friesen
  26. No. 33 Lawless Alan
  27. No. 17 Taylor Gray
  28. No. 77 Chase Purdy
  29. No. 22 Mason Maggio
  30. No. 7 Connor Mosack
  31. No. 76 Spencer Boyd
  32. No. 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb
  33. No. 98 Ty Majeski

Heim embracing opportunity as Jones substitute at Dover

Corey Heim sat in a NASCAR Cup Series car for the first time Saturday when he took the No. 43 Toyota Camry on track for practice at Dover Motor Speedway. Heim is unexpectedly making his debut as he substitutes for Erik Jones, who was injured last …

Corey Heim sat in a NASCAR Cup Series car for the first time Saturday when he took the No. 43 Toyota Camry on track for practice at Dover Motor Speedway.

Heim is unexpectedly making his debut as he substitutes for Erik Jones, who was injured last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Heim is the reserve driver for Legacy Motor Club and 23XI Racing, and Jones is on a week-by-week basis as to when he returns from a compression fracture of a lower vertebra.

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“There is just a long list of men and women at Legacy Motor Club that have helped me get prepared for this race,” Heim said. “I would be lying to you if I wasn’t a little nervous about it because I’ve never sat in one of these cars before, but my job is to do the best I can for this 43 group until Erik comes back.”

Heim would be in the car next weekend at Kansas Speedway if needed. The 21-year-old Heim is a full-time competitor in the Craftsman Truck Series for TRICON Garage.

“Working with Legacy Motor Club since the start of the year has given me a little bit of a head start, I guess, for this week,” Heim said. “You never expect something like this to happen, but at least being able to talk to Dave (Elenz, crew chief) and the other two teams at Legacy Motor Club and being able to start those relationships at the beginning of the year and kick-start this week a little bit better for me. It’s been a pleasure for sure — just getting the virtual seat time in a Cup car has helped me for sure, and being able to tune on the simulator side of things this year.

“I didn’t really get to dive too deep into things this week, but I think the three or four days that I got in preparation and leaning on all of the drivers at Legacy Motor Club to be as ready as I can is the biggest thing for me. I will definitely learn a lot in the next couple of hours, but I think the last three or four days have been really beneficial for me versus over not getting a heads-up. That would have been a lot tougher, for sure.”

Jones has been involved with the team all week and is present at Dover. The advice Jones has been giving has already been “crucial” to Heim, who only had 20 minutes of practice in the car. Jones has also talked to Heim about setting realistic expectations about completing all of the laps in the Wurth 400.

“I think for us, we are just going to try to take it one step at a time,” Heim said. “We’ve got the 20-minute practice and then qualifying. We are going to take it stage by stage there. It is certainly not going to be easy, but it is a longer race than I’ve been accustomed to with the Trucks and the Xfinity stuff, and I also have the Xfinity race (Saturday afternoon) as well to kind of lean on as well. I’ve got the time this weekend to sort of figure it out.

“I don’t know if I will feel that I’ve got it figured out by the end of the weekend, but any advice is super important. I’ve been reaching out to as many people as I possibly can to try to gather all of the information and try to have a decent idea. With these 20-minute practices, it is pretty brutal to wrap your head around a completely different kind of race car within that time frame, but my job is just to do the best I can for this 43 group and move forward from there.”

Heim was 31st fastest in practice but said he had fun and learned his limit quickly. The longer he ran, however, the more Heim felt he was getting warmed up to the Cup Series car.

Corey Heim to run stunning Richard Petty paint scheme in Cup Series debut

Legacy Motor Club revealed Corey Heim’s stunning Richard Petty paint scheme for his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Dover Motor Speedway.

At this time last week, [autotag]Corey Heim[/autotag] didn’t expect to be making his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Dover Motor Speedway. It changed on Sunday when Erik Jones suffered a “spinal fracture” in a bad crash at Talladega Superspeedway. Now, Heim is set for Cup Series debut in the No. 43 car, and it’s coming with a surprising new paint scheme.

Legacy Motor Club revealed on Wednesday morning that Heim will run a special Dollar Tree paint scheme honoring Richard Petty’s 200th Cup Series victory. Heim will run the signature paint scheme at Dover, with a blue base, red outline, and a white number. Also, the top of the car features Petty’s signature number layout.

It will be very special for Heim to make his Cup Series debut, but running Petty’s paint scheme will make it even better.  The TRICON Garage driver shouldn’t be expected to run out front like Petty, but it will be a great learning experience. Heim is ready for his debut at Dover, and it will be fascinating to see how he runs for Legacy Motor Club.

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Erik Jones suffers spinal fracture, replaced by Corey Heim at Dover

Erik Jones has suffered a spinal fracture from his bad wreck at Talladega. Corey Heim will drive the No. 43 car until Jones returns.

[autotag]Erik Jones[/autotag] announced on Tuesday afternoon that he suffered a “spinal fracture” in his wreck at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon. Jones will not compete in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway. In his place, [autotag]Corey Heim[/autotag], the reserve driver for Legacy Motor Club, will drive the No. 43 car.

According to Legacy Motor Club, Jones’ specific injury is a “compression fracture in a lower vertebra” within his back. The driver of the No. 43 car’s timeline for a return is unknown and will be “week to week.” Heim will also drive the No. 26 Xfinity car for Sam Hunt Racing on Saturday afternoon, so he’ll perform double duty on the weekend of his Cup Series debut.

Jones’ injury isn’t the same as Aric Almirola’s back fracture, which was in the middle of his back. Therefore, this won’t be the same situation. Jones will be evaluated week-to-week to see when he can return. In the meantime, this is a good yet unfortunate opportunity for Heim to make his Cup Series debut in the No. 43 far for Legacy Motor Club.

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Heim dominates Truck Series’ only road course of 2024 at COTA

An afternoon of impressive restarts ultimately handed Corey Heim the winning finish in the XPEL 225 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the famed Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course in Austin, Texas Saturday afternoon. Heim dominated the …

An afternoon of impressive restarts ultimately handed Corey Heim the winning finish in the XPEL 225 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the famed Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course in Austin, Texas Saturday afternoon.

Heim dominated the race – his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota leading a race best 31 of the 46 laps and prevailing in an overtime finish to convincingly win his first race of 2024 and sixth of his career — by 1.625s over his teammate Taylor Gray.

ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski, Spire Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch and NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain in a Niece Motorsports Chevy rounded out the top five.

“Just prepared so hard for this race,’’ Heim said, adding, “I came into this race last year and struggled, really. Finished sixth with a penalty and just all over the place. To put together a solid race like this is just so special and really just shows you how good our trucks are back at the shop”.

Heim has finished sixth or better in all five races this season.

“Great consistency and that was the name of the game last year to make it as far as we did,’’ he said smiling. “Didn’t have the result at the end [of 2023] but I think this year we can make it back and prove we’re champions. Super excited for the rest of the year. We’re really just getting started and I think our best tracks are in front of us, so really can’t wait.”

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Certainly Heim’s performance Saturday on the 20-turn, 3.41-mile road course was the afternoon standard, but there was plenty of good racing behind him. There were 14 lead changes among eight drivers, but no one other than Heim led double-digit laps.

Jack Hawksworth, a sports car and IndyCar driver making his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start certainly proved himself a talent to be reckoned with. He ran top five most of the day and led a lap. He finished sixth.

Reigning series champ Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Dean Thompson and Tanner Gray rounded out the top 10.

 

The 17-year-old phenom Zilisch started from pole position in his first ever start in one of NASCAR’s premier divisions. Leading the field, he went into the first corner hard, however, relinquishing the lead to Heim immediately. After a pit stop for tires and a motivational reminder from his veteran crew chief Brian Pattie, he returned with vengeance. He and his Spire Motorsports team never gave up, getting him back on the lead lap and then in contention late in the race.

Zilisch was running in fourth place with less than five laps in regulation to go but was given a pass-through penalty for cutting the course. Fortunately, it came just as a caution flew and it only cost the teenager two positions. He opted to pit for gas during the ensuing yellow flag and was able to climb back to that impressive top five finish in his first race.

Nick Sanchez won Stage 1 and Heim claimed Stage 2 – both drivers’ first stage victories of the year.

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to competition April 5 with the Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim is the defending winner.

RESULTS

Corey Heim signs with 23XI Racing, Legacy Motor Club as a reserve driver

Corey Heim announced on Thursday morning that he has signed with 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club as a reserve driver in 2024.

[autotag]Corey Heim[/autotag] will return to TRICON Garage in the NASCAR Truck Series for the 2024 season, but it won’t come without some added responsibilities. On Thursday morning, Heim announced that he has signed a deal to become the simulator and reserve driver for Legacy Motor Club in 2024. The 21-year-old driver will also be the reserve driver for 23XI Racing.

Heim is now poised to run full-time in the Truck Series, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Sam Hunt Racing, and possibly make starts in the NASCAR Cup Series if his services are needed. It shows that Toyota is committed to developing Heim as a driver; however, his notable absence from anything Joe Gibbs Racing is interesting to see.

Heim was one of the best drivers in the Truck Series during the 2023 season and has shown his ability to win races in NASCAR’s top 3 levels. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the Truck Series driver compete for wins in the Xfinity Series soon. For now, Heim will focus on a Truck Series championship and help 23XI Racing and Legacy Motor Club in the Cup Series.

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Corey Heim to run partial Xfinity Series schedule for Sam Hunt Racing in 2024

Sam Hunt Racing announced on Wednesday morning that Corey Heim will run a partial NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule in 2024.

[autotag]Corey Heim[/autotag] will drive the No. 11 truck for TRICON Garage full-time in 2024; however, that doesn’t prevent him from competing at other NASCAR levels. On Wednesday morning, [autotag]Sam Hunt Racing[/autotag] announced that Heim will compete part-time for the second straight season. The NASCAR Truck Series driver competed in four races last year.

Over those four events, Heim had a best finish of 10th place at Darlington Raceway in the No. 24 car. He only finished two of the four races due to engine and suspension issues. Heim is coming off a very strong season with TRICON Garage after compiling three wins, 12 top-5 finishes, and 19 top-10 finishes. The driver of the No. 11 truck was unable to win the championship.

Sam Hunt Racing represents the second Toyota team in the Xfinity Series as Joe Gibbs Racing takes the top spot. Therefore, it might be a suprise to some seeing Heim join a Toyota race team that isn’t a consistent threat every week. For now, Heim is scheduled to race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the rest of his schedule being to be determined.

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Corey Heim penalized for actions during NASCAR Truck Series race at Phoenix

NASCAR has penalized Corey Heim for his actions during the NASCAR Truck Series race at Phoenix Raceway last weekend.

On Wednesday afternoon, NASCAR officially released the penalty report from the final weekend of the 2023 season. The most notable entry on the list was [autotag]Corey Heim[/autotag] as he was fined $12,500 and docked 25 points for his actions during the NASCAR Truck Series race at Phoenix Raceway. This came after Heim appeared to intentionally wreck Carson Hocevar with a few laps remaining.

The driver of the No. 11 truck for TRICON Garage was spun out by Hocevar in the Final Stage after he took the championship lead. It didn’t appear to be on purpose but it was enough to knock Heim out of what could have been his first Truck Series title. NASCAR didn’t issue any penalties toward the Niece Motorsports driver for his actions.

Overall, this seems like the correct move as Heim drastically affected the ending of the event. It turned into a multi-overtime melee and Grant Enfinger lost the championship after being in the best position before the incident. None of these penalties will affect Heim in 2024 as he will return to TRICON Garage in the No. 11 truck.

Heim hoping regular-season dominance will hold up for Truck Series title

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular season champion Corey Heim insisted Thursday there is no absolute clear-cut championship favorite among the four drivers racing for the big trophy Friday night. But of course. … he certainly likes his chances. …

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular season champion Corey Heim insisted Thursday there is no absolute clear-cut championship favorite among the four drivers racing for the big trophy Friday night. But of course. … he certainly likes his chances.

Despite one fewer start than the rest of the full-time field — Heim missed the Gateway race because of illness — the driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota leads the series in top fives (12), top 10s (19) and stage wins (seven). He brings a streak of 15 consecutive top-10 finishes to Phoenix. And his 564 laps led is double that of any other full-time competitor.

The 21-year-old Georgia native — who is competing in his first full-time season — has only a single previous Phoenix start; leading five laps and finishing seventh last year driving for Kyle Busch. But he’s been preparing for this race since locking himself in early in the final round of the Playoffs.

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“I’ve heard it go both ways, so I don’t know, but I think we’ve earned that (favorite) label,” Heim said. “I guess it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day until you win it. I feel like we have just been so rock solid and consistent since the springtime. We’ve done a good job of executing every week and we show up with fast Toyota Tundra TRD Pros.

“I feel like ever since around Martinsville when our first win happened, we kind of knew that we were capable of it. It was just a matter of executing from that point.”

Heim and his TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra have consistently been at the front all year but as he readily admits, “I guess it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day until you win it.” Motorsport Images

Since his maiden national series victory at the Martinsville half-miler in April, Heim has led laps in all but one race (Talladega) and finished outside the top five only three times. It’s the kind of track record that has helped generate confidence and expectation.

Heim said he’s got plenty of family coming in from all over the country to support him this week, and he’s been relying on other Toyota Racing Development drivers such as John Hunter Nemechek and Christopher Bell, who have had championship experience, for tips on the sim and what to expect this weekend.

“It was nice to be able to kind of spread out some of my studying and really just sit on it and study on it for six weeks and show up and knowing what I need to do, and that has been really big for me,” Heim said. “I understand the circumstances and with this being my first full-time season and my first Playoffs, being able to sit on it and under the circumstances and the pressure has really let me just come here and feel a lot better about it.

“It would be a lot different if I just won my way in at (the last race) Homestead or something and had a week and a half to think about it. But I feel like I’d be more unprepared and coming in with a lot of pressure on me.

“But to be able to sit on it and study on it for six weeks and show up, kind of know what I need to do, was really big for me.”