MADISON, Ill. – The early bird took the win Saturday afternoon at World Wide Technology Raceway.
In a long green flag run to start the final stages of the Toyota 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, Corey Heim brought his No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota to pit road before one of the other top trucks made a green flag stop , and the movement is rewarded with an optimal track position.
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Heim held onto the top spot for a restart on lap 138 of 160 and led the rest of the way, beating runner-up Christian Eckes to the finish by 1.854 seconds and earning a $50,000 bonus as the winner of the second stage of the Triple Truck. Challenge.
The win was a welcome turnaround after Heim’s truck was disqualified from second place on May 24 in Charlotte due to three lug nuts that were not secure. Heim won for the fourth time this season – all within the last eight races – the second time at Gateway and the ninth time in 53 career starts.
“Total team effort today,” Heim claimed. “We struggled a bit yesterday (in practice and qualifying) and worked on it all night. I have to say the pit crew redeemed themselves. Last week we could have won the race and they made some mistakes, but today they redeemed themselves and that’s what it’s all about.”
Heim started ninth and finished fifth in the first two stages. After a quick pit stop during the Stage 2 break, Heim restarted in third on lap 78 and took the lead before the end of the circuit. He held the top spot until he pitted on lap 115, one lap ahead of pole winner Ty Majeski, who was chasing him in second place.
Vicente Salas’ spin on lap 129 interrupted the cycle of green flag stops, but Heim regained the lead on lap 134 as drivers who had not yet pitted carefully brought their trucks to pit road. Heim battled Majeski on the lap 138 restart and had the upper hand.
“Corey was a little bit better, and I knew it,” said Majeski, who won the first two stages and led 43 laps to Heim’s race-high 65. “I thought if I could get track position on him, maybe I could beat him can hold. him off. I threw him into Turn 1 and he took me out of Turn 2, and I had a few more chances.
“I’m a little interested in him. It probably took me a little more effort to run enough to get side by side with him at the back. But yes, a bit short in terms of balance. Sometimes, if you are the best truck at the beginning of the race, you are reluctant to make changes.”
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Majeski dropped to fourth over the final 23 laps, losing positions to Eckes and third-place Nick Sanchez on lap 151.
Eckes lost track position with a slow pit stop on the second stage break, restarted 11th on lap 78 and finished second at Gateway for the third year in a row.
“I definitely feel like we passed that up,” Eckes said. “Disappointing, for sure… It sucks. I thought we had the best truck here.”
Layne Riggs finished fifth, followed by Chase Purdy, reigning champion Ben Rhodes and Stewart Friesen. Two drivers making their series debut – Andrés Pérez de Lara and Luke Fenhaus – finished ninth and tenth respectively.
NOTE: No issues were found in the post-race technical inspection, confirming Heim as the race winner. Nos. 11, 38 and 77 will be returned to the NASCAR R&D Center for disassembly inspection.
