Corey Heim: Driver, No. 51 JBL® Toyota
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: CRC Brakleen 150, Race 16 of 23, 60 Laps – 15/15/30; 150 Miles
Location: Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. (2.5-mile, tri-oval)
Date/Broadcast: July 23, 2022, at noon ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
The Story on Corey:
Corey Heim and the No. 51 JBL team head to Pocono Raceway for Saturday’s CRC Brakleen 150. While this weekend’s race will be his first start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at “The Tricky Triangle,” he has visited victory lane there in the ARCA Menards Series. Heim led 17 laps en route to victory in last year’s race and finished fourth in the 2019 event, giving him an average finish of 2.5 across his two ARCA Menards starts at Pocono.
Across eight Truck Series starts this season, Heim has produced two wins, two poles, 64 laps led, two top-five and three top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 19.5. The Georgia native picked up his first career Truck Series victory in just his fifth start earlier this season at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway in March and was also victorious in June at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. He has led at least one lap in five of his eight starts this season and qualified inside the top five for each of his last six starts, including two poles. He’s one of just three drivers to earn multiple pole awards this season. John Hunter Nemechek leads the series with four, while Ty Majeski also has two.
With two victories across his first 10 Truck Series starts, the 19-year-old driver became one of just 12 drivers in series history to net multiple victories in their first 10 starts. Kasey Kahne and Mike Skinner each produced five victories, Mark Martin collected four wins, Ron Hornaday Jr., Ted Musgrave and William Byron brought home three checkered flags and Heim, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Rich Bickle, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart all delivered two wins.
Heim is competing for the 2022 Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year award. Despite only having competed in eight of the 15 events so far this season, he leads the standings by five points over Lawless Alan. Heim will look to join three other KBM drivers that have won the award, reigning winner Chandler Smith, William Byron (2016) and Erik Jones (2015).
In addition to his part-time Truck Series schedule Heim is competing in a six-race schedule for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series. Heim led 74 of 90 laps en route to the victory at Daytona in February to pick up his eighth career ARCA Menards Series victory. Across 40 career ARCA Menards Series starts he has produced 659 laps led, 29 top-five and 38 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 4.4. Heim finished second to Ty Gibbs in the 2021 ARCA Menards Series championship standings.
Mardy Lindley returned to KBM for his second season atop the pit box of the No. 51 team. Lindley has led his team to six wins since coming to KBM at the start of the 2021 season, including two with Heim and one with Kyle Busch this year. In 2021, his drivers produced three victories, two with Busch and one with Martin Truex Jr. Before arriving at KBM, Lindley guided his drivers to 32 wins and four ARCA Menards Series East championships since 2013, including back-to-back titles with Sam Mayer the last two seasons. Additionally, he earned the ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown championship with Mayer in 2020. Behind the wheel, the second-generation driver won 11 races on the Pro Cup Series from 2000 to 2006 and was crowned the series champion in 2001. Lindley’s lone Truck Series race at Pocono resulted in a runner-up finish with Kyle Busch last year. He also has one ARCA Menards Series race at Pocono, a third-place finish with Mayer in 2020.
The No. 51 team is tied for the series lead with three wins this season. Via Heim’s two victories, they are locked into the owner’s portion of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs that begin July 29 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis (Ind.) Raceway Park.
JBL, the authority in engineering superior sound, returns to KBM for an eighth season and will be the primary sponsor on Heim’s Toyota for 11 races this season including Saturday’s race at Pocono. Crescent Tools, a premier hand tool brand from Apex Tool Group, will serve as a primary sponsor for four of Heim’s races, beginning July 29 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park.
Corey Heim, Driver Q&A:
Corey Heim | Pocono Raceway Preview
You’ve won an ARCA race at Pocono, does that give you confidence heading into the Truck Series race there?
“I’ve had two ARCA starts there in the past and any track that I’ve had prior experience at helps give me an upper hand with the overall experience that it takes. Kansas and Daytona and tracks like that, tracks that I’ve got laps at, it really helps me going into those races. So, I’m really looking forward to this weekend with my JBL Tundra TRD Pro.”
What is the trickiest part about “The Tricky Triangle?”
“I think that track changes every year and gets a little more abrasive throughout time and the tunnel turn gets more and more bumpy. It’s definitely going to change this year with the resin that they are going to put down instead of PJ1 and some variables like that. At the same time, I feel like I’ve had pretty good success there in the past, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Corey Heim Career Highlights:
- Picked up first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway March 19, 2022 in just his fifth start. Across 11 career starts has two wins, two poles, 66 laps led, two top-five and three top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 18.9.
- Made three Truck Series starts in 2021 with a best result of 11th coming at Martinsville Speedway in October.
- Finished runner-up in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings in 2021 after collecting six wins, three poles, 406 laps led, 16 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 3.1 across 20 starts.
- Across 40 career ARCA Menards Series starts has eight wins, 659 laps led, 29 top-five and 38 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 4.4. Picked up his first career ARCA Menards Series victory at Kansas Speedway Oct. 16, 2020.
Corey Heim’s No. 51 JBL Tundra TRD Pro:
KBM-66: The No. 51 JBL team will unload KBM-66 for Saturday’s race at Pocono. It is the same Tundra TRD Pro that Heim picked up his first career Truck Series victory earlier this year at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch also picked up a victory with this Toyota at Atlanta in March of 2021. Most recently Heim earned a seventh-place finish with KBM-66 in May at Texas Motor Speedway.
Click here to see KBM-66 Performance Profile
KBM Notes of Interest:
- Across 29 starts at Pocono Raceway, KBM drivers have earned six wins, two poles, 276 laps led, 14 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 8.6 and an average finish of 9.1.
- John Hunter Nemechek picked up the win in last year’s event. Brandon Jones picked up his first career Truck Series victory in 2021, Kyle Busch won in 2015 and 2018, William Byron was victorious in 2016, and Christopher Bell brought home the hardware in 2017.
- KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (95) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway Heim became the 18th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
- With 40 victories, the No. 51 is the winningest number in KBM’s Truck Series fleet.
