{"id":55483,"date":"2025-10-31T22:15:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T03:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=55483"},"modified":"2025-11-01T10:21:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T15:21:54","slug":"corey-heim-shakes-off-pressure-to-win-nascar-truck-series-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/31\/corey-heim-shakes-off-pressure-to-win-nascar-truck-series-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Corey Heim shakes off pressure to win NASCAR Truck Series championship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on October 31, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

AVONDALE, Ariz. \u2014 The best man won on Friday night, but it was far from a foregone conclusion.<\/p>\n

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Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on October 31, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The statistics might suggest otherwise. In winning the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, Corey Heim swept the first and second stages, led a race-high 100 of 161 laps and took the checkered flag 0.993 ahead of defending series champion Ty Majeski in a second overtime.<\/p>\n

On the restart for the first attempt at overtime, however, Heim was buried in 10th place on the inside lane, but with four fresh tires from a pit stop under caution on Lap 150, he steered his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota to the bottom of the track and ran wide-open through the dogleg as the field spread out seven-wide into Turn 1.<\/p>\n

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Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on October 31, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Charging to the inside of Grant Enfinger\u2019s Chevrolet, Heim emerged from Turn 2 in second place, on the bumper of Majeski\u2019s Ford. Joe Shear Jr., Majeski\u2019s crew chief, had opted for two tires on the Lap 150 pit stop\u2014a move Majeski agreed was his only chance to retain the championship.<\/p>\n

Instead, Heim claimed the title that had eluded him for the previous two seasons, and the weight of the world fell from his shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just am so grateful to be where I’m at,\u201d Heim said. \u201cSo thankful for the TRICON Garage, Toyota taking a chance on me years ago, (sponsors) Safelite, Mobil 1, Yahoo, Celsius, for every bit of their support.<\/p>\n

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Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on October 31, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI was so stressed out ever since we went to the (Charlotte) Roval (where Heim won from the pole Oct. 3 to advance to the Championship 4). I’ve been, like, so terrible to talk to as a person, so stressed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just such a relief, to say the least. So thankful for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly, the pressure had gotten to Heim as he approached a championship he was supposed to win. Coming to Phoenix, the 23-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, had posted 11 victories in 24 races. On Friday, he added a 12th, extending his series record.<\/p>\n

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Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on October 31, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

When Heim took the lead from Chandler Smith on Lap 22, he completed a perfect record of leading laps in all 25 Truck Series races, a unique accomplishment. Heim finished the season with a record 1,625 laps led, eclipsing the mark of 1,533 set by Mike Skinner in 1996.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t care if I was on hundred-lap tires, nobody was going to beat me tonight,\u201d asserted Heim, who won for the first time at Phoenix and the 23rd time in his career. \u201cIt wasn’t going to happen. We struggled all weekend in practice a little bit. In qualifying we missed it a little bit. You can always trust (crew chief) Scott (Zipadelli) up on the box to do everything he can to put me in position to win the race. That’s what he did.<\/p>\n

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Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on October 31, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cDrove it in deep until I couldn’t anymore. Drove away with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heim, however, wasn\u2019t in position to win the race until Connor Mosack hit the Turn 4 wall with just over two laps left in regulation to cause the sixth caution and send the race to overtime.<\/p>\n

At that point, Scott Riggs was leading Heim by less than one second. Eliminated from the drivers\u2019 Playoff on a tiebreaker last weekend at Martinsville, Riggs remained eligible for the owners\u2019 title, and had the race gone to conclusion in regulation, he and Heim likely would have split the two championships.<\/p>\n

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Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, leads the field during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on October 31, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The caution changed everything. Heim already was challenging Majeski for the lead in the first overtime when a four-car wreck in Turn 4 that included Playoff driver Tyler Ankrum necessitated a second try at an extra period.<\/p>\n

After the restart on Lap 160, Heim cleared Majeski quickly and pulled away to win the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly just a little bit short,\u201d Majeski said. \u201cYeah, very close. Tonight, at portions of the run to the 11, I thought at times we were actually better than him. Overall, he was just too strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn’t get a good enough restart to take advantage of where in the run my truck was better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playoff driver Kaden Honeycutt ran third, overcoming a first-lap penalty for changing lanes before the stripe at the start of the race.<\/p>\n

Riggs came home fourth, followed by Rajah Caruth, Jake Garcia, Corey LaJoie, Smith, Tyler Reif (in his Truck Series debut) and Jack Wood.<\/p>\n

Matt Crafton, retiring from full-time NASCAR racing after this season, was 13th in his last ride in the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

NCTS Championship Winning Driver – Corey Heim (No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota) –<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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NCTS Championship Winning Team – Scott Zipadelli (Crew Chief, No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota), Kevin Ray (Team Ownership Partner, Tricon Garage), Tyler Gibbs (Group Vice President and President of Toyota Racing Development) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PHX2NCTSChampionshipWinningTeam103125.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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NCTS Championship 4 Drivers – Ty Majeski (No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford), Kaden Honeycutt (No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota), Tyler Ankrum (No. 18 McAnally\u2013Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PHX2NCTSChamp4Drivers103125.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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NCS Championship 4 Crew Chiefs (James Small, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota; Rudy Fugle, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet; Chris Gayle, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)  –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PHX2NCSChamp4CrewChiefs103125.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race – NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race<\/b><\/p>\n

Phoenix Raceway<\/b><\/p>\n

Avondale, Arizona<\/b><\/p>\n

Friday, October 31, 2025<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (6)  Corey Heim (P), Toyota, 161.<\/p>\n

                2. (8)  Ty Majeski (P), Ford, 161.<\/p>\n

                3. (5)  Kaden Honeycutt (P), Toyota, 161.<\/p>\n

                4. (1)  Layne Riggs (P), Ford, 161.<\/p>\n

                5. (7)  Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

                6. (14)  Jake Garcia, Ford, 161.<\/p>\n

                7. (12)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

                8. (2)  Chandler Smith, Ford, 161.<\/p>\n

                9. (13)  Tyler Reif, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

                10. (15)  Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

                11. (33)  Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

                12. (11)  Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

                13. (25)  Matt Crafton, Ford, 161.<\/p>\n

                14. (21)  Tyler Ankrum (P), Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

                15. (29)  Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, 161.<\/p>\n

                16. (24)  Luke Baldwin, Ford, 160.<\/p>\n

                17. (27)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 159.<\/p>\n

                18. (31)  Greg Van Alst, Toyota, 159.<\/p>\n

                19. (28)  Frankie Muniz #, Ford, 159.<\/p>\n

                20. (30)  Clayton Green, Ford, 158.<\/p>\n

                21. (4)  Tanner Gray, Toyota, 157.<\/p>\n

                22. (34)  Caleb Costner, Chevrolet, 157.<\/p>\n

                23. (18)  Cole Butcher, Toyota, Accident, 154.<\/p>\n

                24. (23)  Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 154.<\/p>\n

                25. (26)  Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, 153.<\/p>\n

                26. (20)  Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, Accident, 147.<\/p>\n

                27. (17)  Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, Accident, 118.<\/p>\n

                28. (3)  Brent Crews, Toyota, Axle, 117.<\/p>\n

                29. (10)  Ben Rhodes, Ford, Accident, 117.<\/p>\n

                30. (16)  Andres Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, Accident, 117.<\/p>\n

                31. (9)  Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, Accident, 117.<\/p>\n

                32. (32)  Mason Maggio, Ford, Engine, 107.<\/p>\n

                33. (19)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Accident, 2.<\/p>\n

                34. (22)  Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, Accident, 0.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  87.434 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 50 Mins, 29 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.993 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  7 for 42 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  10 among 6 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   C. Smith 1-21;C. Heim (P) 22-50;R. Caruth 51-53;C. Heim (P) 54-95;T. Majeski (P) 96-99;C. Heim (P) 100-126;L. Riggs (P) 127-150;S. Parsons 151-154;T. Majeski (P) 155-159;C. Heim (P) 160-161.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Corey Heim (P) 4 times for 100 laps; Layne Riggs (P) 1 time for 24 laps; Chandler Smith 1 time for 21 laps; Ty Majeski (P) 2 times for 9 laps; Stefan Parsons 1 time for 4 laps; Rajah Caruth 1 time for 3 laps.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,1,98,71,15,77,52,7,13,17<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,98,1,52,71,15,34,13,7,17<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. \u2014 The best man won on Friday night, but it was far from a foregone conclusion. The statistics might suggest otherwise. In winning the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, Corey Heim swept the first and second stages, led a race-high 100 of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":55486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[867,16,882,395],"class_list":["post-55483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-corey-heim","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-craftsmen-truck-series","tag-phoenix-raceway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2244403693-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-eqT","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55483"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55517,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55483\/revisions\/55517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}