Corey Heim Wins at the ROVAL to Clinch Championship Berth

Corey Heim celebrating his 10th victory of the season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. (Photo: Chloe Gunn | The Podium Finish)

CONCORD, N.C. — Following a Lap 1 incident in the Ecosave 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, Corey Heim rebounded to win and punch his ticket to a third consecutive Championship 4 appearance.

The 1oth victory of the season for Heim also broke the record for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series single season wins record, which had been held by Greg Biffle since 1999.

“It was not easy today,” said Heim. “I think this was probably the toughest one of the year so far. Just shows the resiliency of this Tricon (Garage) team.”

In Turn 1 of the first lap, Grant Enfinger got into the back of fellow playoff driver Layne Riggs, causing the two of them, along with Heim, to hit the wall before even completing a single turn. Even entering the race with a huge points cushion over the cutline, there was still fear that the No. 11 would have to retire from the race early due to the damage.

Corey Heim crossing the start/finish line to score win No. 10 of the season, clinching his spot in the Championship 4. (Photo: Grady Lundberg | The Podium Finish)

“They fixed it up so good for me after that incident on the first lap, just kind of out of our control and I thought we were done,” Heim said. “The right front completely folded when I hit the wall over there.”

With just three laps remaining, Heim trailed Tricon Garage teammate Brent Crews until the final caution of the race came out for Toni Breidinger, whose truck stalled on track. All but four lead-lap trucks pitted under the yellow flag before the overtime restart, with Heim being one of them, to take over the lead of the race.

“Record-breaking 10 wins, that’s just a phenomenal accomplishment,” Heim said. “I couldn’t do it without these guys (the No. 11 team). Just an awesome day.”

On the losing side of the final caution was Crews, who was in search of his first career NASCAR Truck Series victory. Despite the runner-up result, the 17-year-old had his “coming out party” at the ROVAL, leading a race-high 56 of the 70 laps and battling Heim for the victory down the stretch.

Corey Heim celebrating in Victory Lane after winning the Ecosave 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. (Photo: Chloe Gunn | The Podium Finish)

“Just grateful to be able to keep running races and learning more,” Crews said. “We had a super fast truck, as you guys got to see out there leading the race today. I was happy to see them (Heim and the No. 11 team) get back up there, but I definitely didn’t want to see them stay up there. Definitely sucks, but I learned a lot today.”

Gio Ruggiero, Rajah Caruth and Connor Zilisch rounded out the top five. Followed by Josh Bilicki, Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum and Connor Mosack, all scoring top 10s.

Not scoring a “statistical” finish was Riggs, who was involved in the Lap 1 incident after Enfinger made contact with his No. 34 truck and ultimately finished in 21st place. When talking about the incident, Riggs had strong words about Enfinger following the race, especially after falling to fifth place on the playoff leaderboard.

Corey Heim broke the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series single season wins record with his 10th win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. (Photo: Grady Lundberg| The Podium Finish)

“I don’t know what the (No.) 9 was doing,” said Riggs. “That’s twice this year I’ve gotten wrecked by them. You’re supposed to learn from the veterans and take advice from them. They need to take advice from us because they’re obviously showing the talents they have. I got a lot more words to say, but that’s for a later time.”

Playoff driver Kaden Honeycutt scored a big points day as well, sweeping the stages with an alternate strategy, but finished in 14th following contact on the final lap.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Kaden Honeycutt
2. Ty Majeski
3. Tyler Ankrum
4. Daniel Hemric
5. Brent Crews
6. Connor Zilisch
7. Rajah Caruth
8. Gio Ruggiero
9. Corey LaJoie
10. Layne Riggs

Stage 2 Top Results

1. Kaden Honeycutt
2. Grant Enfinger
3. Rajah Caruth
4. Daniel Hemric
5. Brent Crews
6. Tyler Ankrum
7. Connor Zilisch
8. Corey Heim
9. Matt Mills
10. Josh Bilicki

Playoff Standings (Race 1/3 in the Round of 8)

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

Ecosave 250 at Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL Finishing Results