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  • Tanner Gray claims pole for Charlotte Truck Series race

    Tanner Gray claims pole for Charlotte Truck Series race

    Tanner Gray won Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He topped NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying with a 178.241 mph lap in the No. 15 Toyota for TRICON Garage to earn his first pole this season and his second consecutive Truck Series pole at Charlotte.

    Gray’s teammate, Corey Heim, will start beside him on the front row. Ty Majeski qualified third followed by Rajah Caruth and Layne Riggs to complete the top five.

    Chase Purdy, Connor Mosack, Jack Wood, Kaden Honeycutt and Bayley Currey rounded out the top 10 in qualifying.

    Truck Series points leader, Christian Eckes, will start at the rear of the field after damage during practice.

    Justin Carroll and Jennifer Jo Cobb did not qualify for the race.

    The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is scheduled for Friday at 8:30 p.m. on FS1 with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Line Up:

  • Corey Heim scores dominant Truck victory at North Wilkesboro

    Corey Heim scores dominant Truck victory at North Wilkesboro

    For the second time of the 2024 season, Corey Heim made it known to the NASCAR community that it is Heim Time after notching a dominant NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory in the rain-delayed Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, May 19. 

    The 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led twice for a race-high 66 of 250-scheduled laps in an event. He started 12th but quickly marched his way to the front as he spent the first stage period running inside the top five. Heim was scored in third place when the event was postponed from Saturday night to Sunday morning due to an ongoing increase of precipitation that flooded the circuit.

    He spent the second stage period and a majority of the final stage period running towards the front until he muscled away from Jake Garcia to assume the lead during a late restart period with 65 laps remaining. After retaining the lead through another late-race restart period with 32 laps remaining, Heim pulled away from Grant Enfinger, rookie Layne Riggs and teammate/newcomer Brenden “Butterbean” Queen by as much as three seconds to score his third Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2024 season and his first at North Wilkesboro.

    The starting lineup for the event was determined through a metric system after the event’s on-track qualifying session scheduled to occur on Saturday morning was canceled due to precipitation. Through the metric, Christian Eckes, the current series’ regular-season leader in the standings, was awarded the pole position and he shared the front row with Nick Sanchez. 

    When the green flag waved and the race started on Saturday, May 18, Eckes muscled his No. 19 Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead with the lead from the inside lane through the first two turns. As the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the backstretch, Eckes proceeded to lead the first lap while Ross Chastain overtook Sanchez to move into the runner-up spot. Tanner Gray would follow suit in his bid for third place along with Ty Dillon. As more battles within the field ensued, Eckes stretched his lead to more than a second by the fifth lap mark while Sammy Smith was penalized for a start violation, where he pulled his Spire Motorsports entry out of line. 

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Eckes continued to extend his early advantage as he was leading by more than two seconds over Chastain followed by Tanner Gray, Dillon and Grant Enfinger while Corey Heim, Sanchez, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10 ahead of Jake Garcia, Daniel Dye, Chase Purdy, Lawless Alan and Bayley Currey. Behind, Tyler Ankrum, rookie Layne Riggs, Matt Mills, Brenden Queen and Rajah Caruth followed suit in the top 20 ahead of Stewart Friesen, Jack Wood, Mason Massey, Bret Holmes and Dean Thompson while Matt Crafton was mired in 27th.   

    Ten laps later, Eckes stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Chastain while Tanner Gray, Dillon and Heim trailed by within three seconds in the top five on the track. Behind, Enfinger was trying to fend off Sanchez and Rhodes in sixth place while Majeski and Taylor Gray trailed in the top 10. 

    Another 10 laps later, Eckes continued to lead by more than two seconds over Chastain while teammates Tanner Gray and Heim battled for third place, though both started to close in on Chastain for the runner-up spot, as Dillon trailed by three seconds in fifth place. Eckes’ would have his advantage slightly decrease to one-and-a-half seconds over Chastain by the Lap 40 mark while Heim closed in while running in third place. 

    Just past the Lap 50 mark, Eckes retained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Chastain while third-place Heim kept pace with the leaders as he trailed by a second. Behind, Tanner Gray trailed in fourth place by two seconds while Majeski was up to fifth ahead of Rhodes, Dillon, Sanchez, Taylor Gray and Jake Garcia. Meanwhile, Enfinger had fallen to 16th as he trailed Daniel Dye, Ankrum, Purdy, Riggs and Brenden Queen on the track. 

    A few laps past the Lap 55 mark, the event’s first caution period flew due to precipitation being reported in the venue. During the caution period and with a flurry of pit strategies ensuing, a majority of the field led by Eckes pitted while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Riggs was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation while Friesen and Bayley Currey were both penalized for speeding on pit road. 

    With three laps remaining in the first stage period, the event restarted under green. At the start, Majeski muscled his No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 ahead of teammate Rhodes and managed to transition from the outside to the inside lane through the first two turns as he retained the lead through the backstretch. As Majeski slowly started to pull away, Rajah Caruth battled Rhodes for the runner-up spot while Heim was trying to overtake both teammate Taylor Gray and Dillon for positions on the track. 

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 70, Majeski claimed his third Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Rhodes, racing with a damaged right-front fender after making contact with Bret Holmes earlier, settled in second while Caruth, Taylor Gray, Heim, Dillon, Eckes, Tanner Gray, Jack Wood and Ankrum were scored in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, some including Rhodes, Taylor Gray, Dillon and Wood pitted while the rest led by Majeski remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Spencer Boyd lost a jack on the track after dragging it out of his pit stall and onto the track. 

    Then on Lap 81, the field, led by Majeski was directed to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period due to a lightning hold with lightning being reported near the circuit. With more lightning holds occurring along with a rapid increase of precipitation over the next several hours, NASCAR elected to postpone the remainder of the event to Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1. At the time of the red flag period, Majeski was scored the leader ahead of Caruth, Heim, Eckes and Tanner Gray while Ankrum, Chastain, Connor Jones, Sanchez and Jake Garcia were scored in the top 10. 

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 86 on Sunday morning, Caruth muscled away from Majeski and the field from the outside lane to inherit the lead through the first two turns. As Caruth led the race, Ankrum challenged Majeski for the runner-up spot as Heim and Connor Jones joined the battle. Caruth would retain the lead past the Lap 90 mark while Majeski was trying to narrow the gap. 

    Two laps later, however, the caution returned after Caruth, who was being pressured by Majeski for the lead through the first two turns, slid sideways and barely clipped Majeski before he spun his No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST from the middle to the bottom apron of Turn 2 without getting hit by incoming traffic. During the caution period, some including Ankrum, Garcia, Friesen, Caruth and Rhodes pitted while the rest led by Majeski and Heim remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Friesen was penalized for speeding on pit road. 

    As the event restarted under green on Lap 98, Majeski muscled away from Heim to retain the lead. Majeski, who would then fend off an early challenge from Heim for the lead, would proceed to lead at the Lap 100 mark while Heim, Eckes, Jones and Sanchez trailed in the top five. Majeski would stabilize his advantage to nearly half a second over Heim just past the Lap 110 mark as Eckes, Jones and Sanchez continued to trail in the top five.  

    Following another caution period on Lap 116 due to Lawless Alan spinning in Turn 2, multiple competitors led by Majeski pitted while some led by Ankrum, who pitted during the initial caution period, remained on the track. During the next restart on Lap 123, Ankrum fended off Garcia and Jack Wood to retain the lead while Sanchez was penalized for changing lanes too soon. As the field behind jostled for spots, Ankrum would lead the halfway mark of the event on Lap 125 while Garcia, Friesen, Wood and Riggs trailed in the top five. 

    Then on Lap 137, the caution flew after Bret Holmes spun and wrecked in Turn 2. Holmes’ incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 140 to conclude under caution as Ankrum captured his second Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Garcia followed suit in second along with Friesen, Wood, and Riggs while Rhodes, Eckes, Heim, Daniel Dye and Grant Enfinger were scored in the top 10. 

    During the stage break, some including Matt Crafton, Dillon, Mason Massey, Matt Mills and Timmy Hill pitted while the rest led by Ankrum remained on the track. 

    With 104 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Ankrum and Garcia occupied the front row. At the start, Garcia muscled his No. 13 Quanta Services Ford F-150 way past Ankrum’s No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST and moved into the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Riggs then overtook Ankrum for the runner-up spot as Garcia retained the lead during the following lap.  

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Garcia was leading by two-tenths of a second over Riggs followed by Ankrum, Rhodes and Heim while Friesen, Enfinger, Wood, Eckes and Dye trailed in the top 10. In addition, Dean Thompson occupied 11th place ahead of Sammy Smith, Caruth, Stefan Parsons and Tanner Gray while Taylor Gray, Brenden Queen, Dillon, Jones and Chastain followed suit in the top 20. 

    Ten laps later, Garcia continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Riggs while Ankrum, Heim and Rhodes trailed in the top five. Garcia would proceed to lead by three-tenths of a second over Riggs with 80 laps remaining as Ankrum, Heim and Rhodes continued to trail in the top five. Another six laps later, the caution flew after Jones wrecked his No. 66 Farm Paint/ThorSport Racing entry in Turn 4. During the caution period, some including Wood, Caruth, Dillon, Parsons, Tanner Gray and Jones pitted while the rest led by Garcia remained on the track. 

    With the event restarting under green with 66 laps remaining, Heim challenged Garcia for the lead and overtook him for the top spot during the following lap. With clean air to his advantage, Heim stretched his lead to more than a second over Garcia with 60 laps remaining while Riggs, Eckes and Brenden Queen trailed in the top five within three seconds. 

    With 50 laps remaining, Heim extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Garcia as Riggs, Eckes and Queen trailed in the top five. Ankrum, Enfinger, Sammy Smith, Rhodes and Dye would trail in the top 10 as Heim stretched his lead to another second to three over Garcia with 40 laps remaining. 

    A few laps later, the caution returned after Dean Thompson, who was running 12th, spun and barely avoided hitting the outside wall in Turn 2 as he was also dodged by Chastain. 

    Down to the final 32 laps of the event, the event restarted under green as Heim muscled his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro away from Garcia and the field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Riggs would move into the runner-up spot over Garcia as both Enfinger and Eckes trailed in the top five ahead of Queen and Sammy Smith while Heim led by a second with 25 laps remaining.  

    With less than 15 laps remaining, Heim stretched his advantage to more than two seconds over Riggs as Enfinger, Queen and Sammy Smith were scored in the top five ahead of Eckes, Sanchez, Ankrum, Dye and Garcia. Heim’s advantage grew to nearly three seconds over Riggs with 10 laps remaining while third-place Enfinger trailed by three seconds. 

    Down to the final five laps, Heim continued to lead by more than three seconds over a three-truck battle for the runner-up spot involving Riggs, Enfinger and Queen while fifth-place Sammy Smith, who rallied from his opening lap penalty on Saturday, trailed by less than four seconds. Amid lapped traffic, Enfinger would overtake Riggs’ No. 38 Infinity Communications Group Ford F-150 for the runner-up spot while Queen tried to follow suit over Riggs. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Enfinger’s No. 9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST. Despite having a flurry of lapped traffic in front of him, Heim utilized his large advantage to cruise around the North Wilkesboro circuit smoothly for a final time as he cycled back to the frontstretch to claim his third checkered flag of the 2024 Truck Series season. 

    With the victory, Heim, who became the first three-time winner of this season, notched his seventh career win in the Craftsman Truck Series and his second in the previous three races after winning at Kansas Speedway earlier in May. Heim also joined an exclusive club of Truck Series competitors to win at North Wilkesboro Speedway, a list that includes Kyle Larson, Mark Martin and Mike Bliss as he delivered the third victory of the season for both TRICON Garage and Toyota.

    NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 19: Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Wright Brand 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 19, 2024 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).

    “That was crazy,” Heim said on FS1. “A crazy weekend with the weather and what not, but I knew since practice we had the speed. [I] Can’t say enough about these TRICON Garage guys. What a truck, what a weekend. I knew we had potential from practice and we put it all together and executed great today.” 

    Both Enfinger and Riggs rallied from slow starts to this season by notching their first top-five runs in second and third, respectively. 

    “Overall, [today provided] the best execution of the season,” Enfinger said. “This is the third time, second in a row, we brought a really good, fast Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet. We haven’t been performing to our ability or our standards earlier on in the year. I feel like last week at Darlington was the turning point in our season and I’m standing by that. Very, very proud of this truck, proud of our pit crew all year long. Finally, we have a little bit of results to show for it.” 

    “We really needed this,” Riggs said. “We finally finished where we deserve to finish today. It was a great day for us and hopefully, we can just keep building this momentum.” 

    Meanwhile, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, a CARS Tour late model stock car standout from Chesapeake, Virginia, who notched four victories and settled in the runner-up spot in the 2023 standings, capitalized from being the fastest during Friday’s practice session by finishing in fourth place in his Truck Series debut while piloting the No. 1 Best Repair Company Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage. The solid top-five result also occurred after Queen rallied from an early pit road speeding penalty as he received a standing ovation from the North Wilkesboro crowd.  

    “Man, [this opportunity]’s what I’ve worked for my whole life and never knew if I’d get this opportunity,” Queen said. “I’m just blessed, man, and I just hope I can turn this into some more opportunities. I love racing my late model, but this is my dream to get to the next level. Those guys at the shop [TRICON Garage], they put the hours in and that’s why this truck’s fast. I’m the lucky guy that gets to hold the wheel…I’d love to be full-time [NASCAR racing] next year.” 

    Sammy Smith settled in fifth place while Eckes, Sanchez, Ankrum, Daniel Dye and Friesen finished in the top 10. Notably, Ty Majeski ended up 11th ahead of Jack Wood, Taylor Gray, Rajah Caruth and Ross Chastain. In addition, Jake Garcia drifted back to 21st ahead of Ben Rhodes while Matt Crafton settled in 20th.

    There were seven lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 58 laps. In addition, 26 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap. 

    Following the 10th event of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, Christian Eckes leads the regular-season standings by four points over Corey Heim, 64 over Ty Majeski, 66 over Nick Sanchez and 98 over Taylor Gray. 

    Results:

    1. Corey Heim, 66 laps led 

    2. Grant Enfinger 

    3. Layne Riggs 

    4. Brenden Queen 

    5. Sammy Smith 

    6. Christian Eckes, 62 laps led 

    7. Nick Sanchez 

    8. Tyler Ankrum, 26 laps led, Stage 2 winner 

    9. Daniel Dye 

    10. Stewart Friesen 

    11. Ty Majeski, 50 laps led, Stage 1 winner 

    12. Jack Wood 

    13. Taylor Gray 

    14. Rajah Caruth, six laps led 

    15. Ross Chastain 

    16. Tanner Gray 

    17. Stefan Parsons 

    18. Matt Mills 

    19. Bayley Currey 

    20. Matt Crafton 

    21. Jake Garcia, 40 laps led 

    22. Ben Rhodes 

    23. Mason Massey 

    24. Chase Purdy 

    25. Ty Dillon 

    26. Timmy Hill 

    27. Dean Thompson, one lap down 

    28. Dawson Sutton, two laps down 

    29. Bret Holmes, three laps down 

    30. Lawless Alan, four laps down 

    31. Thad Moffitt, five laps down 

    32. Spencer Boyd, five laps down 

    33. Josh Reaume, five laps down 

    34. Clayton Green, five laps down 

    35. Connor Jones – OUT, Accident 

    36. Trey Hutchens – OUT, Transmission 

    Next on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, May 24, and air at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1. 

  • Corey Heim records dominant Truck victory at Kansas

    Corey Heim records dominant Truck victory at Kansas

    Corey Heim settled his score with Kansas Speedway by notching a dominant NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory in the Heart Of America 200 in the Heartland state on Saturday, May 4, after fending off Cup Series rookie Zane Smith for the top prize. 

    The 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led four times for a race-high 79 of 134 scheduled laps in an event where he started in 13th place but quickly carved his way to the front as he led for the first time on Lap 12. Following an early battle with Zane Smith, Heim would proceed to win the first stage period before he would battle Christian Eckes and Smith for the lead during the second stage period. After regaining the lead from Nick Sanchez on the track with 65 laps remaining, Heim would have to re-cycle back into the lead with 32 laps remaining during a late cycle of green flag pit stops.

    Amid a late charge from Smith, Heim managed to maintain his ground and racing line along with navigating through lapped traffic to remain ahead of Smith and prevail for his second Truck Series victory of the 2024 season and his first at Kansas.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Chase Purdy notched his third Truck career pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 175.735 mph in 30.728 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Majeski, who clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap at 175.713 mph in 30.732 seconds. 

    Prior to the event, the following names that included Jake Garcia, Mason Massey and Timmy Hill dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective trucks. Nick Sanchez also started at the rear of the field due to his Rev Racing entry failing the inspection process three times which prevented him from posting a qualifying lap. 

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Chase Purdy muscled his No. 77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead from the field through the first two turns with the lead as teammate Connor Mosack and Ty Dillon took Ty Majeski three wide to assume second and third place on the track. With the field fanned out as far as four wide exiting the backstretch and back towards the frontstretch, Purdy proceeded to lead the first lap while teammate Mosack, who won the ARCA Menards Series event at Kansas earlier in the day, followed suit in second place. 

    A lap later, the event’s first caution flew when Majeski, who started on the front row but was losing a bevy of spots through the frontstretch, scraped the outside wall in Turn 1 after cutting a left-front tire. The incident pinned Majeski two laps behind the leaders as his pit crew attempted to keep Majeski’s No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150 raceable. 

    As the event restarted under green on the sixth lap, Purdy retained the lead ahead of Zane Smith, Christian Eckes, Mosack and Ben Rhodes while the rest of the field behind started to fan out through the first two turns and through the backstretch. Purdy would lead the proceeding lap until Smith made a move beneath Purdy through Turns 3 and 4 to assume the lead. With Smith leading the race, Purdy was pressured by a hard-charging Corey Heim, who would claim the runner-up spot by the ninth lap, as Eckes tried to follow suit.  

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Zane Smith was leading by a tenth of a second ahead of a hard-charging Heim followed by Purdy, Eckes and Rhodes while Daniel Dye, Ty Dillon, Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt and Taylor Gray were scored in the top 10. Behind, Rajah Caruth was in 11th ahead of Stewart Friesen, Brett Moffitt, Tyler Ankrum and Matt Crafton while Bayley Currey, Grant Enfinger, Tanner Gray, Dean Thompson and Matt Mills were running in the top 20. 

    Two laps later, Heim ignited a side-by-side challenge against Smith for the lead, where Heim led the Lap 12 mark through the frontstretch before Smith led the following lap as both remained dead even for the lead. As Stewart Friesen pitted his No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro under green after getting into the wall a few laps earlier, Heim managed to muscle his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead and clear Smith’s No. 91 Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet Silverado RST to assume the lead with both lanes to his control by Lap 14. 

    At the Lap 20 mark, Heim was leading by half a second over Smith as Purdy, Eckes and Rhodes continued to follow suit in the top five. Behind, Honeycutt was up to sixth place ahead of Ty Dillon and Daniel Dye while Mosack and Taylor Gray were racing in the top 10. 

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Heim notched his second Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Zane Smith settled in second followed by Eckes, Purdy and Kaden Honeycutt while Rhodes, Mosack, Tyler Ankrum, Ty Dillon and Daniel Dye were scored in the top 10. By then, Majeski, who lost several laps since the restart following his opening lap incident, took his truck to the garage as he retired in 33rd place, dead last. 

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Heim pitted for service for the first time in the event. Following the pit stops, Eckes emerged as the new leader after exiting pit road first followed by Honeycutt, Smith and Heim. Amid the pit stops, Dean Thompson, Daniel Dye and rookie Thad Moffitt were penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Jake Garcia was penalized for a pit box interference while Cam Waters, who was making his second Truck career start, was also penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.  

    During the pit stops, Lawless Alan overshot his pit box and hit his front tire changer Brandon Henry. As a result, Henry, who survived the incident, was taken to the infield care center while a new tire changer took over to complete the pit service. 

    The second stage period started on Lap 37 as Eckes and Honeycutt occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes rocketed his No. 19 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead with the lead from the inside lane as the field fanned out through the first two turns and the backstretch. Amid the battles, Smith claimed the runner-up spot from Honeycutt while Nick Sanchez, who carved his way towards the front from the rear of the field and restarted in the top 10, was losing a bevy of spots as he was being pinned in the middle of a bevy of three-wide battles. Smith would then waste little time overtaking teammate Eckes to reassume the lead on Lap 39, but Eckes would pressure Smith on the track during the proceeding laps as he tried to reclaim the lead. 

    Through the Lap 45 mark, Smith retained the lead by a tenth of a second over teammate Eckes, who continued to intimidate his McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammate for the top spot, while Heim, Honeycutt and Purdy followed suit in the top five. Behind, Nick Sanchez was up to sixth place as Moffitt, Mosack, Rhodes and Dillon were running in the top 10 ahead of Caruth, Tanner Gray, Bayley Currey, Taylor Gray and Ankrum. 

    Five laps later, Smith continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Heim as third-place/teammate Eckes trailed by a second. By then, Honeycutt and Purdy continued to run in the top five as Moffitt overtook Sanchez for sixth place. In addition, Caruth was up to 10th place as he trailed teammate Mosack and Rhodes on the track while Dillon dropped to 13th. Amid the on-track battles, Smith stabilized his advantage to six-tenths of a second over Heim by the Lap 55 mark. 

    When the second stage period ended on Lap 60, Smith cruised to his first Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Heim followed suit in second along with Eckes, Honeycutt and Purdy while Moffitt, Sanchez, Caruth, Mosack and Rhodes were scored in the top 10. By then, 27 of 33 starters were scored on the lead lap. 

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Smith returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Eckes reassumed the lead after exiting pit road first for the second time of the event followed by Heim, Honeycutt, Sanchez, Moffitt and Mosack while Smith exited out of pit road in eighth place. Amid the pit stops, Ankrum was assessed a safety violation penalty that sent him to the rear of the field from a top-15 running spot. 

    With 67 laps remaining, which marked the halfway mark of the event, the final stage commenced as Eckes and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes received a push from Sanchez on the inside lane to storm ahead with the lead through the first two turns as the field fanned out. Amid the field fanning out during the following lap, Sanchez cycled his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead before Heim used a crossover move on Sanchez through the frontstretch to reassume the lead. Honeycutt would muscle his No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST into the runner-up spot while Sanchez tried to fend off Eckes and Smith for third place. 

    With less than 60 laps remaining, Heim was leading by two-tenths of a second over Honeycutt followed by Smith, Eckes and Moffitt as Tanner Gray, Currey, Sanchez, Taylor Gray and Matt Crafton trailed in the top 10 ahead of Purdy, Rhodes, Dye, Mosack, Jake Garcia, Caruth, Thompson, Dillon, Bret Holmes and Enfinger. Meanwhile, rookie Layne Riggs was mired in 23rd ahead of Ankrum and Cam Waters. 

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Heim retained the lead by over two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Honeycutt as Smith, Eckes and Moffitt continued to run in the top five. Behind, brothers Tanner and Taylor Gray were running sixth and eighth while Currey was placed in the middle of the Gray brothers as Sanchez and Crafton continued to trail in the top 10. 

    Ten laps later, Heim extended his advantage to a second over Honeycutt, who closed in on Heim for the lead earlier before losing ground, as Smith, Eckes and Moffitt continued to trail in the top five. 

    Shortly after, a cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Heim led Smith and a bevy of competitors to pit road for service before Honeycutt led another group of leaders, including Eckes and Moffitt, to pit road with 39 laps remaining. By then, Rajah Caruth pitted under green two laps earlier as more pitted during the proceeding laps while Daniel Dye, who has yet to pit, was leading. Mason Massey, who also has yet to pit, would then assume the lead with 34 laps remaining as Dye pitted under green. Amid the pit stops, Purdy lost multiple laps due to a loose wheel during his green flag pit service. 

    Then with 32 laps remaining, Heim cycled back into the lead after Massey pitted under green. Smith would cycle into second place followed by Eckes and Honeycutt as Heim was scored the leader by three seconds with 30 laps remaining. 

    With 25 laps remaining, Heim retained the lead by nearly three seconds over Smith while Eckes, Honeycutt and Moffitt were racing in the top five. Behind, Tanner Gray, Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Timmy Hill and Currey were in the top 10. Hill would then pit during the following lap before Taylor Gray slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 after sustaining a flat right-front tire to his No. 17 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Amid Gray’s incident, where he pitted, the race remained under green flag conditions as Heim stabilized his advantage to two seconds over Smith with 20 laps remaining. 

    Down to the final 15 laps of the event, Heim continued to lead by two seconds over Smith while Eckes trailed in third place. As Honeycutt and Moffitt trailed in the top five, the following names that included Sanchez, Tanner Gray, Currey, Thompson and Crafton were racing in the top 10 as Dye, Enfinger, Caruth, Bret Holmes and Dillon followed suit in the top 15. 

    Five laps later, Heim’s advantage decreased to just over a second over Smith, who was trying to narrow the deficit between himself and the leader, while third-place Eckes trailed by four seconds. Honeycutt and Moffitt continued to run in the top five and sixth-place Sanchez trailed the lead by 16 seconds while Heim stabilized his advantage to two seconds over Smith with five laps remaining. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained as the leader by a second over a hard-charging Smith. As Smith tried to narrow the gap while Heim was mired in lapped traffic through the backstretch, the latter was able to stabilize his advantage to perfection and cruise his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro back to the frontstretch victorious for his second checkered flag of the 2024 Truck Series season. 

    With the victory, Heim notched his seventh career win in the Craftsman Truck Series, his first since winning at Circuit of the Americas this past March and his first at Kansas after finishing within the top four during both Truck Kansas events in 2023. Heim also joins Eckes as the only two series regulars to achieve multiple victories thus far into the 2024 Truck Series season while also delivering the second victory of the season for both TRICON Garage and the Toyota nameplate.

    Heim’s Kansas victory also extends his strong start to the 2024 season as he has finished in the top 10 through the first eight events on the schedule while he also continues his pursuit for his first Truck Series championship. The Georgia native will also be making his second Cup Series career start as a relief competitor for Legacy Motor Club and the injured Erik Jones on Sunday. 

    “[I] Can’t say enough about these guys at TRICON Garage,” Heim said on FS1. “Top to bottom, we executed so well today. Pit crew, everyone back at the shop at TRICON Garage. What a truck. Definitely struggled with being free for most of the race, so I can’t say it was easy, but even with the balance I had, this truck has so much more potential to get better. [I] Really wanted this one today and drove my butt off for it.” 

    “[I] Just keep getting better, keeping that gap ahead of the second place guy’s the main thing,” Heim added. “I feel like we were so due on this place and I really wanted this one today, so I knew we were gonna be capable of winning today. It’s about putting some more consistency together for the rest of the year and going after that championship.” 

    Smith, a Cup Series Rookie-of-the-Year candidate who led three times for 29 laps, settled in second place in his fourth and final Truck Series start of the 2024 season, all while piloting the No. 91 entry for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. Amid his strong run, Smith expressed his disappointment in losing a bevy of spots from the lead on pit road prior to the final stage period.

    “I was surprised with how much we caught [Heim] there at the very end,” Smith said. “[You] Can’t lose eight spots on pit road. I let that [race] got away there.” 

    Teammate Christian Eckes, who led 11 laps, came home in third place followed by Kaden Honeycutt, who notched his first top-five career result after finishing fourth, while Brett Moffitt finished in fifth place in his first of select starts driving for TRICON Garage. 

    “It definitely sucks to come that close and not finish the job, but still a great run,” Honeycutt said. “You got to crawl before you walk, so this is the start of something of our part-time schedule.” 

    “It was a good night,” Moffitt added. “[I] learned a lot and we’ll move onto the next one and hopefully, be a little bit better.”  

    Nick Sanchez rallied from starting at the rear of the field to finish sixth while Tanner Gray, Dean Thompson, Daniel Dye and Matt Crafton finished in the top 10. 

    Notably, Rajah Caruth finished 13th, Rhodes ended up 16th behind Ty Dillon, Ankrum ended up 20th, Taylor Gray was mired in 27th, and pole winner Chase Purdy concluded his event in 28th place. In addition, rookie Layne Riggs and Cam Waters, both of whom made contact on the frontstretch prior to the event’s conclusion and had a heated post-race discussion on pit road, finished 18th and 19th, respectively.   

    There were 13 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured three cautions for 16 laps. In addition, 14 of 33 starters finished on the lead lap. 

    Following the eighth event of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season, which marks the halfway mark of this year’s regular-season stretch, Corey Heim leads the regular-season standings by seven points over Christian Eckes, 49 over Nick Sanchez, 65 over Ty Majeski and 80 over Tyler Ankrum. 

    Results. 

    1. Corey Heim, 79 laps led, Stage 1 winner 

    2. Zane Smith, 29 laps led, Stage 2 winner 

    3. Christian Eckes, 11 laps led 

    4. Kaden Honeycutt, one lap led 

    5. Brett Moffitt 

    6. Nick Sanchez, one lap led 

    7. Tanner Gray 

    8. Dean Thompson 

    9. Daniel Dye, four laps led 

    10. Matt Crafton 

    11. Bayley Currey 

    12. Grant Enfinger 

    13. Rajah Caruth 

    14. Bret Holmes 

    15. Ty Dillon, one lap down 

    16. Ben Rhodes, one lap down 

    17. Jake Garcia, one lap down 

    18. Layne Riggs, one lap down 

    19. Cam Waters, one lap down 

    20. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down 

    21. Mason Massey, one lap down, two laps led 

    22. Timmy Hill, two laps down 

    23. Matt Mills, two laps down 

    24. Thad Moffitt, two laps down 

    25. Stewart Friesen, two laps down 

    26. Lawless Alan, two laps down 

    27. Taylor Gray, three laps down 

    28. Chase Purdy, three laps down, seven laps led 

    29. Mason Maggio, three laps down 

    30. Connor Mosack, three laps down 

    31. Spencer Boyd, five laps down 

    32. Jennifer Jo Cobb, six laps down 

    33. Ty Majeski – OUT, DVP 

    Next on the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, for the Buckle Up South Carolina 200. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, May 10, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1. 

  • Tanner Gray to make 100th Truck career start at Martinsville

    Tanner Gray to make 100th Truck career start at Martinsville

    Tanner Gray is set to achieve a milestone start when he competes in his fifth full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. By competing in this weekend’s event at Martinsville Speedway, the driver of the No. 15 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro will reach 100 career starts in the Truck Series. 

    A native of Artesia, New Mexico, and the 2018 NHRA Pro Stock champion, Gray made his inaugural start in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in October 2019. By then, he had completed his first full-time campaign in the ARCA Menards Series East for DGR-Crosley, where he had notched a victory in South Boston Speedway, finished third in the final standings, and had made seven career starts in the ARCA Menards Series.

    Driving the No. 15 Toyota Tundra for DGR-Crosley, Gray started 15th and finished 20th in his Truck debut despite being involved in a final lap incident. He returned in November to compete in the final two Truck Series events of the season for DGR-Crosley at Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway where he piloted the team’s No. 7 entry to finishes of 17th and 16th, respectively.

    The following season, Gray graduated to a full-time racing role in the No. 15 Ford F-150 for DGR-Crosley in the Truck Series, where he contended for the rookie title. Commencing the season with a 23rd-place finish at Daytona International Speedway despite being collected in a late multi-truck wreck, Gray would rally the following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and collect his first top-10 career finish in eighth place. He would then finish in the top 12 in four of his next five starts.

    After retiring at Texas Motor Speedway due to a transmission issue and finishing 18th in the first of a Kansas Speedway doubleheader feature during his next two starts, Gray notched two consecutive top-five results: a fourth-place finish in the second Kansas doubleheader event and a third-place run at Michigan International Speedway.

    Despite managing four top-20 results in the final five regular-season events, Gray did not qualify for the 2020 Truck Series Playoffs. He would commence the Playoffs by posting back-to-back third-place finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After managing only a single top-10 result during the final five events on the schedule, Gray capped off his first full-time Truck season in 14th place in the final standings and in fifth place in the rookie standings. By then, he had notched a total of four top-five results, eight top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.1. 

    In 2021, when DGR-Crosley changed names to David Gilliland Racing, Gray began the season with a 35th-place result at Daytona due to a drivetrain issue. He would finish no higher than 10th during his next nine starts before posting his first top-10 result of the season in ninth place at Texas Motor Speedway in June. Finishing no higher than 14th during the final four regular-season events, Gray did not make the 2021 Truck Series Playoffs. Despite managing a third-place result at Martinsville in October, Gray concluded his sophomore Truck season in 18th place in the final standings with an average-finishing result of 22.3. 

    Gray commenced the 2022 Truck season on a high note with a fourth-place finish at Daytona. He finished fifth during the following event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway before finishing no higher than 15th in the next six consecutive events. Managing only two additional top-10 results during his next seven events, Gray fell short of making the Truck Series Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs, he finished no higher than 16th twice before capping off the season in third place during the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway and in 15th place in the final standings. By then, he had improved his average-finishing result to 18.0 compared to the 2021 season. 

    This past season, when David Gilliland Racing was rebranded to TRICON Garage and returned to fielding Toyotas, Gray started the season by notching a career-best runner-up result at Daytona amid a rain-shortened event. He then posted four top-10 results during his next eight starts, including a third-place result at Darlington Raceway in May. After finishing 18th at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Gray notched his first Truck career pole position at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, where he would end up 27th.

    Managing only one top-11 finish during the final four regular-season events, Gray fell short of making the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. With a ninth-place result in the season-finale event at Phoenix, Gray ended up in 14th place in the final standings. By then, he tied the number of top-10 results from his previous season to six, claimed an extra top-five result from his previous season to three, led a career-high 26 laps and posted an average-finishing result of 16.7. 

    Through 99 previous Truck starts, Gray has achieved one pole, 10 top-five results, 23 top-10 results, 51 laps led and an average finishing result of 18.1. He recently recorded his first top-10 result of the season at Circuit of the Americas in late March by finishing in 10th place and is currently ranked in 10th place in the regular-season standings as he continues his pursuit for both his first series victory and Playoff berth. 

    Tanner Gray is scheduled to make his 100th Craftsman Truck Series career start at Martinsville Speedway for the Long John Silver’s 200. The event is scheduled for Friday, April 5, and will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1. 

  • Colby Howard joins TRICON Garage for Truck Series event at Atlanta

    Colby Howard joins TRICON Garage for Truck Series event at Atlanta

    Colby Howard will be piloting the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro sponsored by Project Hope Foundation for TRICON Garage for next weekend’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    The news comes as the 22-year-old Howard from Simpsonville, South Carolina, is coming off a full-time campaign in the Truck Series with CR7 Motorsports, where he achieved a career-best fourth-place finish at Daytona International Speedway and accumulated a total of 10 top-20 results throughout the 23-race campaign before settling in 21st place in the final driver’s standings.

    “I’m incredibly excited to be working with TRICON and the No. 1 team at Atlanta,” Howard said. “This is a massive opportunity for me at this point in my career and I’m looking forward to going out and making the most of it. Atlanta’s new configuration can be tricky, but I’m ready for the challenge and to prove I belong.”

    Howard, who grew up competing in dirt bikes before transitioning to a career in stock car racing, made his Truck Series debut during the final two events of the 2019 season with Young’s Motorsports. Two years later, he competed in three events with CR7 Motorsports before notching a full-time Truck ride with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for the 2022 season. He would record three top-10 results and 14 top-20 results throughout the 2022 season before settling in a career-best 17th place in the standings prior to his move back to CR7 Motorsports this past season.

    Through 51 previous starts in the Truck Series, Howard has achieved one top-five result, four top-10 results, 12 laps led and an average finishing result of 21.0. He has also made 43 starts in the Xfinity Series and five in the ARCA Menards Series to date.

    This season, Howard becomes the third competitor to be announced to be piloting TRICON Garage’s No. 1 “all-star” entry. Toni Breidinger is set to compete in this weekend’s season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway while William Sawalich will pilot the entry in nine events, beginning at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.

    Additional details regarding TRICON’s No. 1 entry for additional Truck Series events and drivers throughout this season remain to be determined.

    Colby Howard’s first Craftsman Truck Series start of the 2024 season with TRICON Garage is set to occur at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the FR8 208. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, February 24, and air at 2 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Jeff Hensley joins TRICON Garage as No. 17 crew chief for 2024 Truck Series season

    Jeff Hensley joins TRICON Garage as No. 17 crew chief for 2024 Truck Series season

    Veteran Jeff Hensley will be joining TRICON Garage to serve as the crew chief of the No. 17 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team piloted by Taylor Gray for the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

    The news comes as the 61-year-old Hensley from Ridgeway, Virginia, is coming off a strong season as the crew chief of the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado RST team piloted by Grant Enfinger. Throughout the season, the duo notched three victories, a pole, nine top-five results, 13 top-10 results, 232 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.0. They also made the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs and transferred all the way into the Championship 4 round, where they ended up in the runner-up result in the final standings. Ultimately, the finale would serve as Hensley’s final race working at GMS Racing as GMS ceased operations at this season’s conclusion.

    Hensley, who was a former Xfinity Series competitor for his family-owned team before transitioning to a career as a crew chief in 1987, has called 463 events as a Truck Series crew chief from 2004 to 2023. During this span, he notched 22 victories with six different competitors, including nine with Enfinger, and ended up with two runner-up results in the final standings, the first with Mike Skinner in 2007 and the second with Enfinger in 2023.

    In addition, Hensley has appeared in 427 events as a crew chief in the Xfinity circuit from 1987-2001. During the stretch, he achieved 11 victories and the 1990 series’ championship with Chuck Brown. Following the 2001 season, Hensley, who was working for his family-owned team, worked for Arrington Manufacturers before reassuming his role as a crew chief with a direct focus within the Truck Series.

    The 2024 Truck Series season is set to mark Hensley’s first with a Toyota organization since the 2017 season that occurred with ThorSport Racing and Enfinger. It will also mark his first season paired with Taylor Gray, who notched a career-best runner-up finish at Kansas Speedway in September, three top-five results and eight top 10 results while competing in all but three events this past season before settling in 15th place in the 2023 driver’s standings. Having made 33 career starts in the Truck Series for the past three seasons, the 18-year-old Gray from Artesia, New Mexico, is set to mount for his first series’ victory and Playoff bid in 2024 while also making his series’ debut at Daytona International Speedway in February.

    With his plans for next season set, Hensley is set to make his first appearance as a crew chief for TRICON Garage and Taylor Gray in the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series’ season-opening Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona. The event is scheduled to occur on February 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Taylor Gray retained by TRICON Garage for 2024 Truck Series season

    Taylor Gray retained by TRICON Garage for 2024 Truck Series season

    Taylor Gray will officially embark in his first full-time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with TRICON Garage in 2024.

    The news comes as the 18-year-old Gray from Artesia, New Mexico, is coming off his rookie season in the Truck Series, where he achieved three top-five results, six top-10 results, two laps led, an average-finishing result of 14.6 through 20 starts and a 15th-place result in the final driver’s standings. He was unable to compete in the series on a full-time basis until he turned 18 years of age in March, which saw him miss the first three events on the schedule.

    “The opportunity to continue to grow with TRICON and Toyota is not one that I take for granted,” Gray said. “I am excited to tackle my first complete Truck season and continue developing into a weekly contender. I am ready to hit the ground running and am prepared to win races in 2024.”

    Gray, who grew up competing in late models and was elevated to the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the ARCA Menards Series East with DGR-Crosley, has three ARCA Menards Series victories, one ARCA Menards Series East win and five ARCA Menards Series West victories to date, with his best points result being a runner-up finish in 2022 ARCA East division.

    In 2021, Gray made his Truck Series debut at Watkins Glen International with David Gilliland Racing, where he finished 35th. He competed in four additional Truck events throughout the season before returning for eight additional starts in 2022 and then competing for a majority of events this past season with TRICON. His best on-track result to date is a runner-up finish at Kansas Speedway in September. Previously, he achieved a third-place finish at Pocono Raceway in July.

    Gray, who will continue to pilot the No. 17 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, becomes the fourth competitor to be retained by TRICON for the 2024 Truck Series season. His older brother Tanner, Corey Heim and Dean Thompson have been confirmed to return to the organization and pilot the Nos. 15, 11 and 5 entries, respectively, next season.

    With his racing plans for next season set, Taylor Gray’s first full-time campaign in the Craftsman Truck Series commences at Daytona International Speedway. The season opener is scheduled to occur on February 16, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Tanner Gray set to return to TRICON Garage for 2024 Truck Series season

    Tanner Gray set to return to TRICON Garage for 2024 Truck Series season

    Tanner Gray will be returning as the driver of the No. 15 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage for the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

    The news comes as the 24-year-old Gray from Artesia, New Mexico, is coming off hia fourth full-time campaign in the Truck Series. This past season, Gray achieved his first career pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. Despite missing the 2023 Truck Series Playoffs, he notched a total of three top-five results, six top-10 results, 26 laps led and an average-finishing result of 16.7 throughout the 23-race schedule before settling in 14th place in the final driver’s standings.

    “I am grateful to be back at TRICON for another year in 2024 with my guys on the No. 15 truck,” Gray said. “I really feel like going into next year we will be better, more prepared and have a greater understanding of what we need to do to execute. My biggest focus is on making sure I am getting better every day, and I am excited for what lies ahead.”

    Gray, a former NHRA drag racer who won the 2018 NHRA Pro Stock championship, transitioned to stock car racing in 2019 when he first competed in the ARCA Menards Series East for DGR-Crosley. Throughout the season, Gray earned his first career victory at South Boston Speedway in May and finished in the top 10 in nine of 12 events before finishing in third place in the final standings. Through 2021, Gray has made three starts in the ARCA Menards Series West, 13 in the ARCA Menards Series East and 15 in the ARCA Menards Series.

    In 2019, Gray made his first career start in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in October with DGR-Crosley, where he finished 20th. He would compete in the final two events on the schedule before graduating to a full-time role in the team’s No. 15 entry for the 2020 season. He would remain with the team through 2021-23 as the team changed names to David Gilliland Racing, beginning in 2021, and to TRICON Garage this past season.

    While the 2020 Truck Series season generated Gray’s strongest season in stats with top fives (4), top 10s (8) and average-finishing result (16.1), the 2023 season generated the most points Gray accumulated at 533. For both seasons, the New Mexico native achieved a career-best 14th-place finish in the standings.

    Through 94 career starts in the Truck Series, Gray has achieved a pole, 10 top-five results, 22 top-10 results, 46 laps led and an average-finishing result of 18.2 as he continues his pursuit for both his first series victory and first Playoff berth.

    Tanner Gray’s return to TRICON Garage completes another missing piece to the team’s driver lineup for next season as Corey Heim and Dean Thompson will also be returning to the team to pilot the No. 11 and No. 5 entries, respectively, in 2024. The rest of the team’s driver lineup remains to be determined.

    With his plans for next season set, Tanner Gray’s 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season commences with the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on February 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Corey Heim penalized following on-track dustups with Carson Hocevar at Phoenix

    Corey Heim penalized following on-track dustups with Carson Hocevar at Phoenix

    Corey Heim has been issued a behavioral penalty from NASCAR following his on-track actions during the season-finale Craftsman 150 at Phoenix Raceway that occurred last Friday, November 3.

    The issue stemming from Heim’s actions at Phoenix occurred with 31 laps remaining after the 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, who had overtaken title contender Carson Hocevar a lap earlier, was hit by Hocevar in between Turns 1 and 2 causing Heim to spin and collect Stewart Friesen in the process. While Friesen hit the outside wall and damaged his truck, Heim managed to keep his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro off the wall and proceed without sustaining any significant damage.

    Then with four laps remaining, Heim, who had rallied his way up to eighth place, returned the favor after he veered to the right in front of Hocevar, who was gaining ground of him, and sent both into the outside wall entering the backstretch. The incident damaged Hocevar’s truck and eliminated him from further contention, where he ended up 29th, while Heim, who was then hit by a spinning teammate Taylor Gray, managed to finish the finale in 18th place.

    Despite denying any actions of retaliation during his post-race interview, NASCAR reviewed and determined that Heim had violated Sections 4.4.B & D, which refers to the Member Code of Conduct from NASCAR’s Rule Book.

    As a result, Heim was fined $12,500 and docked 25 points in the driver’s standings. He had initially concluded the 2023 Truck Series season in third place in the final standings by virtue of being the third-highest-finishing title contender on the track. The penalty, however, dropped Heim to fourth place in the final standings behind the new third-place finisher, Hocevar. Ben Rhodes would claim his second series championship by finishing in fifth place on the track, one spot ahead of title contender Grant Enfinger.

    The 2023 Truck Series season marked Heim’s first full-time campaign in the series, where he joined TRICON Garage after spending the previous season with Kyle Busch Motorsports and winning two races and the 2022 Rookie-of-the-Year title. Throughout the 2023 season, Heim achieved the regular-season championship, three victories, four poles, 12 top-five results, 19 top-10 results, 611 laps led and an average-finishing result of 6.8 throughout the 23-race schedule.

    Heim is slated to return to TRICON Garage and continue to pilot the team’s No. 11 entry for the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season as he will bid for both another Championship 4 run and the series’ title.

    Heim’s 2024 Truck Series season is slated to commence at Daytona International Speedway for the season-opening Fresh from Florida 250, which will occur on February 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Heim clinches Championship 4 berth with late Truck victory at Bristol

    Heim clinches Championship 4 berth with late Truck victory at Bristol

    In an event dominated by Christian Eckes, Corey Heim captured the final spotlight and punched his ticket to this year’s Championship 4 round after emerging late to win the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 14.

    The 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led the final six of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he was one of eight Playoff competitors vying for both a victory and an early automatic spot to race for this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship at Phoenix Raceway in early November. Taking the green flag in 11th place, Heim methodically carved his way to the front and managed to secure stage points during both stage break periods.

    Then after restarting alongside dominant pole-sitter and Playoff rival Christian Eckes at the start of the final stage period with 80 laps remaining, Heim spent the majority of the final 80-lap run to the finish trailing Eckes. He then capitalized on Eckes being marred in lapped traffic to overtake him for the lead with six laps remaining. From there, Heim managed to keep his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in front and claim the checkered flag over a hard-charging Eckes to win for the third time in 2023 and become the first Playoff competitor to be guaranteed a championship-contending spot for this year’s finale due to occur less than two months from now.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Thursday, Playoff contender Christian Eckes, who won last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 127.064 mph in 15.101 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Carson Hocevar, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 126.813 mph in 15.131 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Bayley Currey, Playoff contender Nick Sanchez, Kaden Honeycutt, Stewart Friesen and Parker Kligerman dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Christian Eckes, who started on the outside lane, quickly transitioned to the inside lane in front of Carson Hocevar through the first two turns as Ty Majeski challenged Hocevar for the runner-up spot from the outside lane. With the field navigating its way around the Bristol circuit while jostling for early positions, Eckes proceeded to lead the first lap in his No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST.

    Through the second to fifth lap, a majority of the front-runners migrated to the inside lane and in a single-file line as Eckes retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Hocevar and Majeski while Chase Purdy, Tanner Gray and rookie Rajah Caruth were in the top six. Behind, Zane Smith overtook rookie Taylor Gray for seventh while Jack Wood was running in ninth ahead of William Sawalich, Corey Heim and Grant Enfinger as Ben Rhodes was mired in 14th in between Jake Drew and Hailie Deegan.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Eckes was leading by more than a second over Majeski followed by Hocevar, Purdy and Caruth while Tanner Gray, Zane Smith, Taylor Gray, Wood and Sawalich were running in the top 10. Behind, Heim was in 11th ahead of Enfinger, Jake Drew, Rhodes and Matt DiBenedetto while rookie Daniel Dye, Deegan, Matt Crafton, Dean Thompson and Tyler Ankrum occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Nick Sanchez was mired in 31st while battling Greg Van Alst for position and trying to navigate his way to the front without losing a lap.

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Jack Wood, who was running ninth, spun and wrecked against the Turn 3 outside wall before his No. 51 Rowdy Manufacturing Chevrolet Silverado RST then spun back down to the track and was clipped by Dean Thompson’s No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro as both sustained significant damage to their vehicles and were eliminated from contention. During the caution period, some including Kligerman and Sanchez pitted while rest led by Eckes remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 24, Eckes rocketed ahead and retained the lead over Majeski and Hocevar as the field jostled for positions amid two lanes through the first two turns. With Eckes leading and slowly starting to cruise away from the field, Purdy was in fourth ahead of Caruth, Zane Smith, Taylor Gray and Heim while Tanner Gray, Enfinger and Rhodes were mired in the top 11. Amid the battles, Eckes was leading by more than a second over Hocevar and Majeski by the Lap 30 mark.

    At the Lap 40 mark, Eckes continued to lead by more than a second over Hocevar followed by Majeski, Purdy and Zane Smith while Caruth, Taylor Gray, Heim, Tanner Gray, Enfinger and Rhodes trailed in the top 11. Meanwhile, Nick Sanchez was still mired towards the rear of the field in 26th behind Daniel Dye.

    Ten laps later, Eckes, despite being mired within lapped traffic, continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Hocevar with third-place Majeski trailing by half a second as the latter two tried to keep pace and pressure Eckes for the top spot.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 55, Eckes captured his fifth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Hocevar settled in second followed by Majeski, Purdy and Zane Smith while Caruth, Taylor Gray, Heim, Tanner Gray and Rhodes were scored in the top 10. By then, Enfinger and Sanchez were the only two Playoff contenders to not score the first round of stage points as they were mired in 11th and 26th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Eckes pitted for service while the rest led by Playoff contender Zane Smith and including Sanchez, newcomer Carson Kvapil and Bayley Currey remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 66 as Zane Smith and Kvapil occupied the front row. At the start, Zane Smith rocketed his No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150 away with the lead from the outside lane while Kvapil, who was piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports in his series’ debut, spun the tires and stacked up the inside lane. With Kvapil briefly losing pace, Sanchez navigated his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST into the runner-up spot followed by Eckes, the first competitor on four fresh tires, while Kvapil settled in fourth in front of Majeski. As the field behind jostled for positions, Zane Smith maintained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Sanchez by the Lap 70 mark. The caution, however, returned by Lap 74 when Greg Van Alst, who was running towards the rear of the field, spun in Turn 2.

    During the following restart on Lap 80, Zane Smith retained the lead after gaining another strong launch from the outside lane while Sanchez and Eckes battled dead even for the runner-up spot before Eckes prevailed during the proceeding lap. Behind, Majeski moved up to fourth ahead of Kvapil while Heim, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Hocevar and Purdy were in the top 10 ahead of Rhodes. Amid the battles, Eckes started to challenge Zane Smith for the lead as he was trailing by a tenth of a second.

    By Lap 90, the top-eight Playoff contenders were running in the top 11 on the track as Zane Smith continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Eckes followed by Sanchez, Majeski and Heim while Kvapil, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Hocevar, Purdy and Rhodes followed suit, with Kvapil, Gray and Purdy being the top non-Playoff contenders running towards the front.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Zane Smith retained the lead ahead of Eckes while Sanchez, Majeski and Heim remained in the top five. By then, Rhodes was overtaken by Caruth for 11th while Enfinger and Hocevar were in seventh and ninth. By then, Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton, both of whom were coming off being eliminated from the Playoffs, were in 15th and 16th while Sawalich and Jake Garcia were in 13th and 14th, respectively. In addition, Kligerman, Stewart Friesen, Tyler Ankrum, Connor Jones and Deegan were battling within the top 20.

    Five laps later, Eckes overtook Zane Smith, who was mired behind the lapped competitor of Spencer Boyd, for the lead. Shortly after and with more lead lap and Playoff contenders trying to navigate around Boyd, Majeski, who was running fourth, fell off the pace after he made contact with Heim that got Majeski loose and with a flat right-front tire to the No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150. Despite plummeting in the leaderboard as the laps in the second stage dwindled, Majeski continued to run on the track and the event remained under green flag conditions.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 110, Eckes cruised to his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season and second of the night. Zane Smith settled in second while Sanchez, Heim, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Hocevar, Kvapil, Caruth and Rhodes were scored in the top 10. By then, Majeski was mired in 30th as he was lapped by Eckes, but he would receive the free pass during the stage break period due to being the first competitor mired a lap behind.

    During the stage break, some led by Zane Smith pitted for service while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Zane Smith was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for pitting outside of his pit box. Taylor Gray also dropped to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

    With 80 laps remaining, the final stage started as Eckes and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes took off with the lead from the outside lane and he quickly steered his truck from the outside to the inside lane in front of Heim’s No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro through the first two turns. Behind, Enfinger made contact with Taylor Gray to move into third place followed by Hocevar as Gray fell back to fifth in front of Caruth and Rhodes. As the field battled deep within two lanes around the circuit, Eckes stretched his advantage to half a second over Heim and more than a second over third-place Enfinger with 75 laps remaining.

    With 60 laps remaining, Eckes continued to lead by more than a second over Heim followed by Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray while Caruth, Purdy, Rhodes, DiBenedetto and Friesen were running in the top 10. By then, Sanchez, who scrubbed the outside wall at the start of the final stage and was trying to rally his way back to the front after pitting during the stage break, was back in 13th in between Jake Garcia and Crafton while Majeski and Zane Smith were mired in 25th and 27th, respectively.

    Ten laps later, Eckes retained the lead by more than a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray remained in the top five. By then, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Rhodes, Sanchez, Majeski and Zane Smith were running eighth, 13th, 25th and 26th, respectively.

    Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Eckes was now leading by a tenth over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray continued to trail from third to fifth, respectively. Meanwhile, Caruth retained sixth ahead of Purdy, Rhodes, DiBenedetto and Friesen while Sawalich, Garcia, Sanchez, Bayley Currey and Matt Crafton occupied the top 15. By then, Zane Smith, who was still mired within the middle of the pack amid his late pit road penalty, was lapped by Eckes.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Eckes stabilized his advantage by two-tenths of a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray remained in the five. By then, Majeski was back in 23rd, but in jeopardy of being lapped by Eckes, while Rhodes and Sanchez were still scored on the lead lap in eighth and 12th. Eckes would proceed to extend the advantage by half a second with less than 20 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Eckes stretched his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor followed suit in the top five. By then, Rhodes and Sanchez moved up to seventh and 10th while Majeski was mired in 20th. In addition, Zane Smith was back in 24th.

    Then with six laps remaining, Eckes hit a roadblock after getting mired behind lapped competitors, among which included Ty Majeski and Tanner Gray. This enabled Heim to make his move beneath Eckes for the lead through Turn 2. With both Eckes and Heim battling dead even through Turn 3, Heim managed to muscle ahead and assume the lead from the inside lane with five laps remaining. During the proceeding laps, Heim, who was approaching the lapped traffic that stalled Eckes’ momentum, retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Eckes, who kept Heim close within his sights and tried to regain the lost advantage.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained as the leader by two-tenths of a second over Eckes. Despite Eckes gaining a strong run to Heim’s outside through Turns 2 and 3 as Heim was still mired in lapped traffic, Heim managed to keep Eckes behind him through Turns 3 and 4 as he surged ahead and claimed the checkered flag to win by two-tenths of a second over Eckes.

    With the victory, Heim, who won the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular-season championship, scored his third Truck victory of the season, the fifth of his career, first at Bristol and first since winning at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July. Above all, Heim officially claimed one of four vacant spots to this year’s Championship 4 round as he and the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota team led by former championship-winning crew chief Scott Zipadelli will contend for the series championship at Phoenix Raceway in November.

    “Just huge thank you to TRICON Garage, Toyota Racing, Safelite,” Heim, who celebrated with his team and the fans on the frontstretch, said on FS1. “This is insane. I feel like I’ve given so many [wins] away this year and to win one at the end like that was so special. Unreal. We finally got one back. I was in the zone. I just thought about all the races we’ve given away or I’ve given away. I just focus forward and semi-pass up right where we needed to be. Gosh, it’s so awesome to know we’re in Phoenix and it’s awesome.”

    While Heim was left victorious, Eckes was left dejected on pit road after having a secured spot for himself for the finale evaporate in an event where he led a race-high 150 laps and swept both stages. The runner-up result, though, places Eckes in the runner-up spot in the current Playoff standings and 29 points above the top-four cutline with two upcoming Playoff events for him to rally and receive another opportunity to make the cutline by October.

    “I just think it’s a little ironic that [Tanner Gray] was three laps down and waited,” Eckes said. “Whatever. Good truck. I got really tight there at the end. It is what it is, but just huge thanks to Gates Hydraulics,…everybody involved. That one stings, for sure.”

    Like Eckes, the Bristol night featured strong runs for Enfinger and Hocevar, both of whom finished third and fourth in the final running order. As a result, Hocevar is situated in third place in the Playoff standings and 18 points above the cutline while Enfinger holds possession of the fourth and final spot above the cutline by 14 points.

    “I feel like, overall, we executed almost to the best of our ability,” Enfinger said. “I wished we could’ve contended for the win, but overall, I feel like we got all we could get out of our Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet. Lacking a little bit to contend for a win. We always want to fight for a win. We couldn’t do that [tonight], but I think overall, we executed well on pit road. We executed well. Not happy, but satisfied.”

    “We just needed to have a good smooth night tonight and get the points we could and not over-extend ourselves or make any mistakes,” Hocevar added. “We did just that. Our Worldwide Express Chevy was really fast. It was just about not making mistakes and going to run the top [lane]. I wished we could’ve widened out a little bit, but fourth [in the Playoff standings] and plus 20, 18 or whatever it is [above the cutline] is good going into Talladega and that was our goal. We’ll just keep clicking away.”

    Rookie Taylor Gray, coming off a career-best runner-up result at Kansas Speedway, notched his second top-five finish in recent weeks by finishing fifth and as the highest non-Playoff competitor in the field. Rajah Caruth, Rhodes, Purdy, Sanchez and DiBenedetto completed the top 10 on the track.

    For Sanchez, the ninth-place result marks his 10th top-10 finish of the season and a strong rally from starting at the rear of the field. The result, however, leaves him and his No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet team 22 points below the top-four cutline. Rhodes, Majeski and Zane Smith join Sanchez in being scored below the cutline following the first Round of 8 event.

    “It sucks because I did legitimately think we had pace to contend for a win,” Sanchez said. “Just didn’t work out tonight. It is what it is, but we’ll go to Talladega and try to minimize the damage and try to go win Homestead.”

    There were four lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 33 laps. In addition, 20 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Corey Heim, six laps led

    2. Christian Eckes, 150 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Grant Enfinger

    4. Carson Hocevar

    5. Taylor Gray

    6. Rajah Caruth

    7. Ben Rhodes

    8. Chase Purdy, one lap led

    9. Nick Sanchez

    10. Matt DiBenedetto

    11. Jake Garcia

    12. Carson Kvapil

    13. Bayley Currey

    14. Stewart Friesen

    15. Connor JOnes

    16. Matt Crafton

    17. Hailie Deegan

    18. Parker Kligerman

    19. Ty Majeski

    20. Jake Drew

    21. Daniel Dye, one lap down

    22. Colby Howard, one lap down

    23. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

    24. Zane Smith, one lap down, 43 laps led

    25. Kaden Honeycutt, one lap down

    26. Timmy Hill, one lap down

    27. Bret Holmes, one lap down

    28. Lawless Alan, one lap down

    29. Tanner Gray, two laps down

    30. William Sawalich, three laps down

    31. Spencer Boyd, four laps down

    32. Stephen Mallozzi, eight laps down

    33. Memphis Villarreal, nine laps down

    34. Greg Van Alst – OUT, Brakes

    35. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

    36. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Corey Heim – Advanced

    2. Christian Eckes +29

    3. Carson Hocevar +18

    4. Grant Enfinger +14

    5. Zane Smith -14

    6. Ben Rhodes -19

    7. Nick Sanchez -22

    8. Ty Majeski -22

    The second Round of 8 event in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to occur at Talladega Superspeedway on September 30, with the event’s air coverage slated to occur at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.