Corey Heim continued his smooth postseason run with a timely podium at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Do not look now but Corey Heim has been the epitome of consistency in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Prior to last Saturday’s Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Heim tallied 14 consecutive top 10 finishes including wins at Martinsville and Bristol. Most impressively, the TRICON Garage racer has logged 10 top fives in this incredible stretch.
Not surprisingly, during this run, the 21-year-old Marietta, Georgia native has held the points lead since the 10th round of the Truck Series season at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Simply put, the driver of the No. 11 Chateau Elan/Explore Braselton Toyota Tundra has been sparkling.
In the words of the Talking Heads’ 1981 song “Once in a Lifetime,” for Heim, when it came to his performance in the 134-lap race at Homestead, it was the same as it ever was. Qualifying eighth for the penultimate race of the Truck Series season, the Georgian did not disappoint his hardy team and the Toyota brigade.
Leading 57 laps and winning Stages 1 and 2, Heim flexed his muscles early on at the 1.5-mile Southern Florida racetrack. Although he was not entirely in the mix toward the end of the race, he still carved out a solid third place result.
Heim’s incredible, three-win season, complimented by 12 top fives and 19 top 10s, has simply been unreal. With an average starting spot of 7.2 and average finishing position of 6.2, it would seem the Georgian is the prime title contender for the upcoming Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway, otherwise known as the Championship 4 race.
Certainly, Corey Heim seemed well on his way to a victory at Homestead before an issue in Stage 3. (Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
Naturally, Heim cannot wait for the championship showdown against Ben Rhodes, Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger on Friday night, Nov. 3. After clambering out of his fast, dominant Tundra, the Georgian reflected on the upcoming Championship 4 battle in Avondale, Arizona.
“I’m definitely excited for Phoenix,” Heim said. “I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work and studying into that race. It’s going to be the biggest race of my career. Super thankful for Toyota Racing and TRD for putting me in this position.”
As for coming up a few positions short of the victory, Heim considered a potential issue that may have occurred with his No. 11 Tundra.
“Really, I thought we had them covered,” he said. “We swept the first two stages and were kind of put-putting around waiting for the third stage, and all of a sudden, it went out like a light switch.
“We’ll look everything over, it’s kind of undiagnosed for us, but huge shout out to Chateau Elan and Explore Braselton for everything they do, TRD and Toyota Racing, once again, and TRICON Garage. We have bigger things on the horizon, so we are focused on that heading to Phoenix.”
If Heim managed a podium despite potential problems that befell his truck, that may be bad news for his competitors who will vie for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship for a Friday night fight at the enigmatic Phoenix Raceway.
