NASCAR
Corey Heim Takes 11th Win of Year at Martinsville, Tiebreaker Determines other Championship 4 Contenders
RIDGEWAY, Va. – 2025’s best Truck Series driver and team continue to rewrite record books. Corey Heim is victorious for an 11th time this season in Martinsville, taking two of three Round of 8 races. Behind Heim, however, it was an absolute dogfight for the final Championship 4 positions. An ultimate tiebreaker and one-point difference decided the other Phoenix challengers. Heim appears unstoppable on paper, but any advantage is now wiped away ahead of Championship Weekend.
After starting fourth, Corey Heim took command late in Stage 1. The TRICON Garage Toyota held on for a max-points effort across the first half. Heim would restart 10th in the final Stage and only retook the lead with 17 laps left. The 11 had to outlast two late restarts from the lead though. This included overtime with a hungry Kaden Honeycutt breathing down his neck. Second on track was evidently enough to get the Halmar-Friesen Racing driver into the finale on a tiebreaker over Layne Riggs. By one point apiece, reigning champion Ty Majeski and Tyler Ankrum round out 2025’s Championship 4 field.
“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions yet,” Heim said after his second Martinsville triumph. “We got a big race next week, and I wanted the momentum going to Phoenix. Keep all our guys with heads held high, and to know what they’re working on going into Phoenix. I feel like it was definitely a rocky race there getting behind on track position. But we wanted to capitalize on our day and make the most of it. Really didn’t think we had the truck that we had in the spring. But once we got out front we really showed that we had something to work with here. Just so grateful for TRICON Garage, Toyota, Safelite, Mobil1, Celsius, just everyone that’s gotten me to this point so far. Got a big one next week to close it out. It’s gonna be tough, but I’m confident we can do it.”
Layne Riggs loses out on a maiden Championship 4 bid by finishing third, falling into a tie with Honeycutt that went in the 52’s favor. Brent Crews and Corey Lajoie rounded out Martinsville’s top-five, with other Championship 4 contenders finishing seventh (Majeski) and ninth (Ankrum). Hear from these three Playoff finalists below.
.@chaseelliott says he wasn’t surprised by the early aggression from @TALLADEGA.
The @TeamHendrick 9 heads to Martinsville in a must-win scenario. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/6OvVOjlIaB
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 19, 2025
.@TyMajeski was 7th tonight and able to squeak into the Championship 4 to defend his title by 1 point.
“We’re playing with house money, all 3 of us are, it’s Corey’s title to lose”#NASCAR #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/OoFFLdXEXl
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 25, 2025
Ninth on track tonight and into his first Championship 4 by one point, @TylerAnkrum jokes that he “needs a f*cking psychiatrist tomorrow” after such a stressful race from @MartinsvilleSwy. #NASCAR #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/4RiUbg2D2o
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 25, 2025
On the flip side of this Playoff cut race are the four eliminated drivers. Rajah Caruth and Daniel Hemric both ran into early issues across the stages. Grant Enfinger and Layne Riggs, meanwhile, both suffered from lost track position in the closing laps.
.@rajahcaruth_: “The tire came off the rim…just the nature of racing at Martinsville” after a likely playoff exit #NASCAR #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/YWMqji1Rva
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) October 24, 2025
The Truck Series Championship race goes green from Phoenix Raceway (Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Heim, Ankrum, Majeski, or Honeycutt will be crowned top dog of the Truckers in a matter of days, ending 2025 on the ultimate stage.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
