NASCAR
Corey Heim Clinches Elusive Charlotte Triumph
CONCORD, N.C. – Almost 100 laps out front and all three stages swept should be a status quo day for Corey Heim by now. That’s exactly what happened Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The best driver and team in the Trucks this year executed another nearly flawless night. The TRICON Garage driver takes a fourth checkered flag of the season in lights-out fashion, leaving the rest of the field looking at his tailgate.
Heim started third, being bested only by teammates Gio Ruggiero and Tanner Gray in qualifying. It did not take long for the No. 11 to be number one though, with Heim taking command on lap three. It was far from a dominant opening run for Heim, with Ross Chastain proving to be stout as well.
Heim would be beaten off pit road a few times after each stage by Kaden Honeycutt. The No. 11’s raw pace soon reigned supreme mere laps into each successive run, however.
Heim’s team opted to aggressively pit early among the final green flag pit sequence. The No. 11 Toyota was called in for its final service with 30 laps left. No late yellow allowed anyone to get within reach of Heim, allowing for a six-second lead when the checkers finally flew.
“It’s honestly just nice to be far enough away where someone can’t clean me out, to be honest with you,” Heim said. “Super thankful for TRICON Garage, Toyota, Safelite, this thing was obviously really good. I feel like we’ve had the speed the last couple years here, just circumstantially haven’t been able to get it done. Obviously such a good truck, had to execute on my part. The pit crew did a great job, just a really nice clean day. Pumped about this one. I feel like we gave a couple away the last two weeks, but redeemed ourselves tonight.”
Heim is now tied with Matt Crafton for 15 career Truck Series victories, ranked 10th on the all-time wins list. Expect Heim to continue rising up this legendary ladder if his team continues to perform as strong as they were in Charlotte.
A long ways behind Heim at the finish were: Ross Chastain, Kaden Honeycutt, Layne Riggs, and Kyle Busch. Hear from a few of these drivers below.
Truckers are back on track Friday night from Nashville Superspeedway. A year ago saw Christian Eckes lead every lap of this race. Can Corey Heim potentially match this historic feat? The Rackley Roofing 200 goes green at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to David Jensen/Getty Images
