Corey Heim Wins at Martinsville, Championship 4 Set

Corey Heim celebrating in Victory Lane after winning his 11th race of the season at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)

RIDGEWAY, Va. — It was “Heim Time” once again this weekend at Martinsville Speedway as Corey Heim won the Slim Jim 200 for his 11th win of the 2025 season.

Heim led a race-high 77 laps en route to the victory, extending his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series single-season wins record in the process.

“Definitely a rocky race there, getting behind on track position,” Heim said. “We wanted to capitalize on our day and make the most of it. I really didn’t think we had the truck we did in the spring, but once we got out front, it showed we really had something to work with here.”

Even with the historical season Heim has had, it all comes down to next weekend at Phoenix Raceway in a winner-takes-all race. Not ready to mark himself down as the champion, he cited wanting to win this race to keep his No. 11 team’s momentum rolling into the finale.

Corey Heim burning it down after winning at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Chloe Gunn | The Podium Finish)

“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions yet,” said Heim. “We’ve got a big race next week, and I wanted the momentum going into Phoenix to keep all our guys with heads held high. It’s going to be tough, but I’m confident we can do it.”

Joining him in the Championship 4 is Kaden Honeycutt, who advanced via the best finish in the round tiebreaker over Layne Riggs for the final Championship 4 transfer spot.

Honyecutt, who originally was slated to run the full season with Niece Motorsports, was let go in August after deciding to sign with Toyota for the 2026 season. After piecing together a one-race deal with Young’s Motorsports, Honeycutt landed the No. 52 truck for Halmar Friesen Racing for the remainder of the season after Stewart Friesen’s injury.

“I wanted to do it so damn bad for Stewart (Friesen) and this race team,” said Honeycutt. “This playoff run was more for them than it was for me. I could’ve very easily been on the couch in July and watching the rest of this year and not been in this playoff contention.”

Corey Heim won the Slim Jim 200 at Martinsville Speedway for win No. 11 in 2025. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)

Riggs, who had been the second-best behind Heim for most of the season, won’t get to fight for a title next weekend. Despite missing the finale, Riggs was more upset with the way he had to race, given his overall situation in the closing laps, as he tried to advance.

“I was dejected even when I thought we were in at first,” Riggs said. “I just don’t like racing that way. I’m hearing ‘got to get one (spot),’ and everybody knows how it is. If I get the opportunity to get in for my team, I’m going to do it, even if I don’t want to do it the way I do.”

It was a round of missed opportunities for Riggs, who had a key issue in each race of the Round of 8 that cost his No. 34 team valuable points.

“It all kind of started with that missed shift on that restart,” said Riggs. “I’ve never missed a shift in a truck in my whole career. I think things could’ve been a lot different. It all started at the (Charlotte Motor Speedway) ROVAL, getting turned around in Turn 1, Lap 1, go to Talladega and have all the issues we had.”

Corey Heim en route to his 11th victory of the season at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Chloe Gunn | The Podium Finish)

Ty Majeski earned a chance to defend his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title, advancing by a single point. It has been a tough year for ThorSport Racing overall this season, having zero victories with only one race remaining, but Majeski was able to hold on and clinch a transfer spot to Phoenix.

“Probably not the fashion we wanted to do it in,” Majeski said. “Just missed it as a group tonight. The biggest thing was persevering, qualifying well, getting stage points early and being in a good spot going into Stage 3. We’re going to go try and defend our title.”

Also advancing to the Championship 4 by a single point was Tyler Ankrum, whose career season will continue with a shot at a title.

“It was a good effort by everyone,” said Ankrum. “I could see on the pylon it was like plus two (points) with that second or third restart to go. It was just time to go, it’s so tight in points.”

Rajah Caruth entered the race 14 points above the cutline, but his dreams of competing for a championship were cut short on Lap 73. While battling with Honeycutt, the two drivers made contact, cutting the left rear tire on Caruth’s No. 71 truck and sending him into the wall hard.

Rajah Caruth missed the Championship 4 by 28 points after cutting a left-rear tire and hitting the outside wall. (Photo: Chloe Gunn | The Podium Finish)

“Heartbreaker for sure,” said Caruth. “We were in a really good spot, but it is what it is. The sun will still come up tomorrow. It sucks now, but it’s part of it.”

When looking back on the incident, Caruth said it was a racing deal, but it sucked that he happened to be on the receiving end of the deal.

“I know it wasn’t on purpose,” he said. “He did it to Corey (Heim) by accident in the spring, and Cup (Series) guys have done that same thing. So, it obviously wasn’t on purpose. Just a bummer it was me.”

Daniel Hemric and Grant Enfinger both were eliminated as well after entering Martinsville needing a win to advance. Hemric finished in 31st place after overheating ended his race early, and Enfinger scored a 12th-place finish.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship takes place at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, October 31, at 7:30 p.m. EST on FS1, NRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Corey Heim
2. Ty Majeski
3. Grant Enfinger
4. Tyler Ankrum
5. Tanner Gray
6. Layne Riggs
7. Kaden Honeycutt
8. Gio Guggiero
9. Rajah Caruth
10. Brent Crews

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Corey Heim
2. Ty Majeski
3. Layne Riggs
4. Grant Enfinger
5. Tanner Gray
6. Tyler Ankrum
7. Gio Ruggiero
8. Kaden Honeycutt
9. Conner Jones
10. Ben Rhodes

Playoff Standings (Race 3/3 in the Round of 8)

1. Corey Heim (ADVANCED)
2. Ty Majeski (ADVANCED)
3. Tyler Ankrum (ADVANCED)
4. Kaden Honeycutt (ADVANCED)
5. Layne Riggs (ELMINATED)
6. Rajah Caruth (ELMINATED)
7. Grant Enfinger (ELMINATED)
8. Daniel Hemric (ELMINATED)

Slim Jim 200 at Martinsville Speedway Finishing Results