Corey Heim Tames Darlington, Punches Ticket to Round of 8 in Truck Series Playoffs

Corey Heim collected his eighth victory of the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, as he kicked the playoffs off with a win at Darlington Raceway. (Photo Credit: Ricky Msrtinez | The Podium Finish)

DARLINGTON, S.C. — It was business as usual down in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series during Saturday’s playoff opening Sober or Slammer 200 at Darlington Raceway, as Corey Heim visited victory lane for the eighth time this season, as he’s now collected his 19th career victory, and the first time he’s won three races in a row.

After checking out on the field on the final restart of the race on Lap 134, Heim at the end pulled away by 0.766 seconds ahead of fellow playoff driver Daniel Hemric for his first victory at the “Lady in Black.” The victory for Heim now sits just one win short of Greg Biffle’s record of nine victories in a single season, which is the most in Truck Series history set back in 1999.

Despite leading the most laps of the day from the pole position, Heim’s nearest competitor of Layne Riggs gave Heim a run for all he had before hitting the wall in the closing laps of the race, causing the driver of the No. 34 Ford F-150 to finish 17th on the day, collecting a total of 39 points, including the Stage 2 victory.

“We had that tire going down at the end of stage two,” Heim said after the issue of tires effected the outcome of the race. “I felt it swing tight quick. Luckily, it wasn’t a blowout, or obviously, we would have been in trouble. We held with it. I felt like the 34 (Layne Riggs) and the 38 (Chandler Smith) were really good all day. I could make a little speed on the wall, but it was such a high-risk play.”

The complexion of the Truck Series Playoffs took a dramatic turn early in the race. Starting next to pole-winning Front Row Motorsports teammate Riggs, Chandler Smith led the first 10 laps, but found trouble shortly after when he slapped the outside wall and cut his right-front tire. Smith wouldn’t be able to rebound from the incident, as he went to the garage and never came back out, finishing 30th, and in a points deficit as he finds himself beneath the cutline by two points.

Veteran Grant Enfinger came home third with a steady, mistake-free effort. Ty Majeski overcame his own flat-tire woes to rally to fourth, and Trevor Bayne rounded out the top five in his first Truck Series event since 2023.

Trevor Bayne posted a fifth place effort in his first Truck race in nearly two years. (Photo Credit: Ricky Martinez | The Podium Finish)

Tanner Gray, Tyler Ankrum, Timmy Hill, Corey Day, and Jake Garcia made up the top 10 after the dust settled.

The other notable playoff drivers that finished outside the top 10 came in the names of Rajah Caruth (12th) and Kaden Honeycutt (18th).

The Truck Series rolls back for a second trip to “Thunder Valley” as the tough trucks of NASCAR take on Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 11.

Coverage of the UNOH 200 will air live on FS1 at 8:00 p.m. ET with radio coverage powered by the NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Stage 1 Results
1. Corey Heim
2. Layne Riggs
3. Grant Enfinger
4. Daniel Hemric
5. Gio Ruggiero
6. Tyler Ankrum
7. Tanner Gray
8. Corey Lajoie
9. Corey Day
10. Rajah Caruth

Stage 2 Results
1. Layne Riggs
2. Corey Heim
3. Grant Enfinger
4. Daniel Hemric
5. Gio Ruggiero
6. Corey Lajoie
7. Tyler Ankrum
8. Tanner Gray
9. Trevor Bayne
10. Corey Day

2025 Sober 0r Slammer 200 Darlington Raceway NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results