Kyle Larson executed an improbable comeback by rallying from a late spin to snatch a dramatic NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory in the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, March 21.
The 2021 Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led three times for 20 of 134-scheduled laps in an event where he started in third place and spent the first two-stage periods racing at the front, where he notched two runner-up finishes between the first two-stage periods. Then, with 45 laps remaining, Larson’s event appeared to have gone south after he got loose underneath Layne Riggs, whom Larson was battling for the runner-up spot, and slid sideways in a cloud of smoke before performing a complete 360 spin through the first two turns.
Despite proceeding without making any contact from the field or the wall, Larson restarted just outside the top-20 mark for the following restart period with 39 laps remaining. With the remainder of the event under green flag conditions, Larson methodically carved his way back up the leaderboard and was up into third place with four laps remaining. Then, after zipping past the dominant leader, Corey Heim, as Heim experienced late power issues, Larson slid his way past Riggs to assume the lead with two laps remaining. With Riggs and Heim unable to regain any ground during the final lap, Larson commenced his triple-duty weekend at Homestead by reigning supreme with his first Truck Series victory of the 2025 campaign.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Corey Heim, winner of last weekend’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, motored to his first Truck pole position of the 2025 season and the eighth of his career with a pole-winning lap at 168.167 mph in 32.111 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Tanner Gray, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 167.281 mph in 32.281 seconds.
The start of the event under green flag conditions only lasted a single turn due to rookie Giovanni Ruggiero, who was pinned in a tight four-wide battle with Ross Chastain, Grant Enfinger and Tyler Ankrum in the top-10 mark, getting loose after he was both pushed and pinned in between Chastain and Enfinger. As Ruggiero tried to keep his No. 17 First Auto Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry racing straight, he ended up making more contact with Enfinger before he spun up the track in Turn 2 and was hit on the left-rear side by an oncoming Ben Rhodes.
Amid the incident, the field fanned out and scattered while jostling for early spots. In addition, pole-sitter Corey Heim, who led the first lap under caution, retained the lead ahead of Kyle Larson, teammate Tanner Gray, Layne Riggs, and Chastain.
When the event restarted under green on the sixth lap, Heim, who restarted on the inside lane, rocketed his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry ahead of the field through the frontstretch while Larson, who restarted on the outside lane, struggled to launch. This allowed Tanner Gray to challenge Larson for the runner-up spot through the first two turns before the latter muscled ahead through the backstretch. As Heim retained the lead entering Turn 3, a three-wide action for third place involving Gray, Layne Riggs, and Chastain ensued. Larson would then use the outside lane to draw even with Heim as both dueled for the lead through the frontstretch.
During the seventh lap, Heim managed to move up in front of Larson through the first two turns. Heim would proceed to lead through the backstretch until Larson used the outside lane to draw even with Heim for a second time through Turns 3 and 4. With Heim using the inside lane to slide in front of Larson for a second time through the first two turns, Chastain and Riggs battled for third place.
By the ninth lap, Larson used the inside lane through the first two turns to slide in front of Heim for the lead, but Heim mirrored Larson’s charge and slid from the inside lane to reassume the lead through Turns 3 and 4. As Heim muscled back ahead, Chastain started to challenge Larson for the runner-up spot while Riggs, Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum, Gray, Rajah Caruth, Stewart Friesen and Daniel Hemric followed suit in the top-10 mark.
Through the first 15-scheduled laps, Larson, who reassumed the lead from Heim three laps earlier, was leading by a full second over Heim while Riggs, Chastain and Majeski followed suit in the top five. Behind, Ankrum, Gray, Friesen, Hemric and Brandon Jones were racing in the top 10 ahead of Kaden Honeycutt, Grant Enfinger, Chandler Smith, Rajah Caruth and Matt Crafton while Jake Garcia, Corey Day, Stefan Parsons, Connor Mosack and Matt Mills were mired in the top 20.
Five laps later, Larson stabilized his lead to more than a second over Riggs while Heim fell back to third place. Meanwhile, Majeski and Chastain battled for fourth place as Heim would then challenge Riggs to reclaim the runner-up spot. With Riggs retaining the spot over Heim, both also started to close in on Larson for the lead despite the latter proceeding to lead by the Lap 25 mark.
On Lap 26, the top-three competitors that consisted of Larson, Riggs and Heim were separated by two-tenths of a second. Amid the battles, Heim reassumed the runner-up spot from Riggs and he proceeded to close in on Larson for the lead. With Heim unable to slide up in front of Larson, Riggs re-challenged Heim for the spot as Larson continued to lead by Lap 27. Heim would then use the inside lane to draw himself dead even with Larson through the backstretch on Lap 28. As Riggs closed in, Heim muscled ahead and slid in front of Larson through Turns 3 and 4 to assume the lead.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Heim, who continued to lead over the previous two laps, fended off last-lap challenges from Larson and Riggs to claim his first Truck stage victory of the 2025 season. Larson edged Riggs for the runner-up spot while Majeski, Chastain, Ankrum, Hemric, Friesen, Honeycutt and Zane Smith were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Heim peeled off the track for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Heim retained the lead after he exited pit road first and he was followed by Larson, Majeski, Ankrum, Hemric, Zane Smith, Tanner Gray, Friesen, Honeycutt and Chastain, respectively. Meanwhile, Riggs, who entered pit road in third place, slid through his pit box and exited in 13th place.
The second stage period started on Lap 37 as Heim and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, both dueled for the lead as the field behind fanned out entering the first two turns. Heim would proceed to use the inside lane to muscle ahead, where he led through the backstretch and fended off Larson through Turns 3 and 4 to lead the following lap. As Heim led Larson, Majeski, who squeezed Tyler Ankrum up the track through the first two turns during the restart, battled Friesen for third place in front of Honeycutt, Hemric, Zane Smith and Chastain. With Majeski and Larson nearly making contact for the runner-up sot in front of Friesen, Heim led the Lap 40 mark.
At the Lap 45 mark, Heim continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over a tight three-wide battle involving Friesen, Majeski and Larson. The former two of Friesen and Majeski would proceed to overtake Larson, which dropped the latter to fourth place, as Chastain attempted to challenge Larson for fourth place. Larson would manage to overtake Friesen for third place and Majeski would retain the runner-up spot while Heim led by half a second on Lap 50.
Then just past the Lap 50 mark, Majeski used the inside lane through the first two turns to slide in front of Heim and assume the lead. Seconds later, however, Heim pulled a crossover move to the inside lane and he reassumed the lead. Heim would begin to build a steady gap between himself and Majeski while Larson, Friesen and Honeycutt pursued. With Heim leading at the Lap 55 mark, Larson caught and overtook Majeski for the runner-up spot through Turns 3 and 4. Larson’s moved occurred after Majeski had gotten loose entering the backstretch during the previous lap.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Heim captured his second consecutive Truck stage victory of the event and his second of the 2025 season. Larson followed suit in second ahead of Majeski, Friesen and Honeycutt while Riggs, Chastain, Hemric, Ankrum and Enfinger were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Heim returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Heim retained the lead after exiting pit road first and he was followed by Larson, Friesen, Hemric, Riggs, Honeycutt, Chastain, Majeski, Enfinger and Brandon Jones, respectively. Not long after the pit stops, Majeski returned to pit road to have his left-front fender repaired after he made contact with Honeycutt while exiting pit road.
With 67 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Heim and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Heim muscled away from Larson, who briefly struggled to launch, and he would proceed to lead through the first two turns while Hemric battled Larson for the runner-up spot. Hemric would continue to duel with Larson for the runner-up spot through the backstretch and Turns 3 and 4 while Riggs, Chastain, Friesen, Enfinger and Honeycutt all followed within close range. Amid the battles, Heim led the next lap.
Shortly after, Riggs made a bold three-wide move beneath Hemric and Larson for the runner-up spot. This caused Hemric to get loose and briefly step out of the gas, where he dropped to fourth place while Riggs pursued Larson and Heim for the lead. Hemric would proceed to get shuffled out of the top-five mark as Larson dueled with Heim for the lead with 65 laps remaining. Riggs and Chastain then overtook Larson to move into second and third, respectively, over the next lap before Chastain overtook Heim to assume the lead with 63 laps remaining.
Down to the final 60 laps of the event, Chastain extended his lead to more than a second over Heim while Larson trailed by one-and-a-half seconds in third place. Behind, Riggs and Hemric trailed in the top five ahead of Friesen, Honeycutt, Enfinger, Brandon Jones and Ankrum while Zane Smith, Connor Mosack, Corey Day, Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, Tanner Gray, Rajah Caruth, Matt Mills, Stefan Parsons and Andres Perez de Lara were mired in the top 20.
Ten laps later, Chastain stabilized his lead to half a second over a hard-charging Heim while Riggs, Larson and Hemric were racing in the top five. Another three laps later, Heim overtook Chastain through Turns 3 and 4 to reassume the lead. As Heim led with 46 laps remaining, Riggs used the outside lane to duel with Chastain for the runner-up spot. Amid the battle, Chastain slid up the track and nearly made contact with Riggs through Turns 3 and 4. This allowed Larson to gain a draft on both as Larson overtook Chastain for third place through the frontstretch.
Then with 45 laps remaining, Larson, who tried to slide up in front of Riggs for the runner-up spot, slipped up and made contact with Riggs. This resulted with Larson getting sideways and spinning his No. 07 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST entry to the bottom of the track in Turn 2. Despite performing a full 360 spin, Larson was dodged by the field and he proceed with right-side cosmetic damage as the caution flew.
During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Heim returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Heim retained the lead as he exited pit road first. He was followed by Honeycutt, Hemric, Chastain, Enfinger, Riggs, Ankrum, Caruth, Zane Smith and Friesen, respectively. Shortly after, however, Honeycutt was sent to the tail end of the field due to a vehicle interference penalty.
With the race restarting under green with 39 laps remaining, Heim rocketed his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry away from the field from the inside lane. Heim would proceed to lead and he would be followed by Chastain and Ankrum while Hemric, who struggled to launch from the outside lane, was trying to retain fourth place over Enfinger, Riggs and Zane Smith. With the field fanning out, Chastain wasted no time boosting his No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST entry back to the front as he overtook Heim from the outside lane through Turns 3 and 4 to lead the following lap. With Chastain leading with 37 laps remaining, Heim fended off Ankrum to keep second place as Riggs, Hemric, Enfinger and Zane Smith pursued. Meanwhile, Chastain stretched his lead to half a second with 55 laps remaining while Larson, who was trying to carve his way back to the front amid his late spin, cracked the top-15 mark.
Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Heim reassumed the lead from Chastain with a strong move from the inside lane through the first two turns. Behind, Riggs, Ankrum and Hemric trailed in the top five while Enfinger, Zane Smith, Friesen, Jake Garcia and Tanner Gray followed suit in the top 10. Meanwhile, Larson was battling Connor Mosack for 14th place while Honeycutt was mired in 16th place. In addition, Majeski was fending off Brandon Jones and Corey Day for 12th place.
Five laps later, Heim had his advantage decreased to three-tenths of a second as Chastain started to gain ground. Behind, Riggs pursued the lead in third place by more than a second while Hemric and Ankrum remained in the top five. Then another three laps later, Riggs gained a huge ground on Chastain after the latter got loose entering the frontstretch. Riggs would proceed to overtake Chastain for the runner-up spot and pursue Heim for the lead.
Then with 21 laps remaining, Heim fell off the pace entering Turn 3. This allowed Riggs to rocket past him and assume the lead, where he led the following lap, while Chastain also made his way into the runner-up spot. As Heim continued to lose ground from the lead, where his disadvantage grew to more than a second, Chastain and Riggs battled for the lead as the former assumed the top spot. Chastain would proceed to lead with 15 laps remaining as Riggs continued to intimidate Chastain. Meanwhile, Heim, who was stumbling to maintain power in his truck, was trying to regain ground on the leaders.
With 13 laps remaining, Heim, who overtook Riggs for the runner-up spot a lap earlier, started to challenge Chastain for the lead. Amid his power issues, Heim then used the inside lane to slide in front of Chastain and return atop the leaderboard with 12 laps remaining. With Riggs overtaking Chastain for the runner-up spot, Heim proceeded to stretch his advantage to nearly a second with 10 laps remaining while Larson rocketed his way back into fifth place.
Down to the final five laps of the event, Heim’s advantage grew to more than a second over Riggs while third-place Chastain trailed by nearly three seconds. Meanwhile, Larson, who outdueled Ankrum for fourth place and was rim-riding his way towards the outside wall, trailed the lead by more than three seconds and he would proceed to overtake Chastain for third place a lap later.
Then with four laps later, Heim dropped off the pace after the power in his truck died again. This allowed Riggs to rocket past him for the lead. As Heim struggled to regain pace, Larson overtook him for the runner-up spot before Heim fended off Ankrum for third place. Over the next lap, Larson gained a huge ground on Riggs through the backstretch and he would gain more ground through Turns 3 and 4 despite Riggs maintaining a steady lead in the No. 34 Love’s Ford F-150 entry.
With two laps remaining, however, Larson, who drew himself to Riggs’ rear bumper through the frontstretch, made his move beneath Riggs and slid in front of him through the first two turns. As a result, Larson returned atop the leaderboard, where he led through the backstretch while Riggs tried to fight back. Riggs, however, could not stay even with Larson through Turns 3 and 4 as Heim started to battle Riggs for the runner-up spot.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained in the lead over Riggs and Heim. Both Riggs and Heim would attempt to gain ground on Larson through the turns, but it was not enough as Larson, who kept his No. 07 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado entry rim-riding towards the outside wall as he had been doing over the course of his late rally, was able to smoothly navigate his way around Homestead for a final time and return to the frontstretch victorious with his first checkered flag of the 2025 season.
With the victory, Larson notched his fourth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career victory in his 16th series start, his first in the series at Homestead and his first since winning at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May 2023. The victory was also the seventh in the Truck Series for Spire Motorsports, the organization’s second of the year, the first for Spire’s newly formed No. 07 entry and the first for crew chief Allen Hart.
In addition, Larson, who is competing in all three of NASCAR’s top national touring series throughout this weekend at Homestead, accomplished his first feat towards achieving a triple-header sweep. The Californian will be driving for Hendrick Motorsports for Saturday’s Xfinity Series event and Sunday’s Cup Series event at Homestead as he attempts to join Kyle Busch as the only competitors to achieve the feat in racking up victories across NASCAR’s top three national touring series in a single race weekend.
“That was pretty unbelievable from my seat,” Larson said on the frontstretch on FOX. “I wasn’t exactly sure if I could get back up there. [I] Didn’t have the restart that I wanted. [It] Kind of took a little bit too long to start picking [the field] off and just got rippin’ the wall on both ends. It was really paying dividends, I think, in [Turns] 1 and 2 for me and just staying wound up. I caught some of the guys that were doing just good enough up there where I couldn’t get my and bog my momentum down, but got clear of them.”
“I’m not sure what happened with [Heim], but that worked out in our favor, for sure,” Larson added. “I don’t think I would’ve gotten to him. Obviously, I would’ve got to second, probably, but it would’ve been tough to get to [Heim]. That last run was a lot of fun. Thanks to Spire Motorsports, thanks to [Hendrick Motorsports’ owner] Rick Hendrick and HendrickCars.com for letting me come have some fun tonight. This was definitely fun. [I] Learned a lot, too, I think, so look forward to the rest of the weekend.
As Larson celebrated with his family and team, Heim, who led a race-high 78 laps compared to Larson’s 20, was left both confused and dejected on pit road after having a third trip to Victory Lane in 2025 slip out of his grasp due to his late power issues.
“About 15, 20 [laps] to go, everything seemed fine as far as what I could see,” Heim said. “The engine would hard-cut on me and the [dashboard] would go black. I’d have to pull my right hand over and fully re-cycle the power to get any sort of life back in the motor. I really don’t know what the problem was, to be honest with you, but I can’t say enough about this Safelite Tundra TRD Pro. Everyone at TRICON Garage and Toyota did a phenomenal job. [The truck was] Probably the best truck I ever had, really. Just stings pretty bad, obviously, but nothing I could’ve done about it.”
Riggs, who led three laps, settled in second place for his second consecutive top-five finish in recent weeks. McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Tyler Ankrum and Daniel Hemric finished in the top five, respectively, while Ross Chastain, who led 33 laps, finished in sixth place.
Jake Garcia, Chandler Smith, Grant Enfinger and Kaden Honeycutt completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Notably, Ty Majeski, Brandon Jones, Matt Crafton, Corey Day, Stewart Friesen, Rajah Caruth, Frankie Muniz, Andres Perez de Lara and Toni Breidinger finished 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 22nd, 24th, 25th and 26th, respectively. In addition, Ben Rhodes, who never recovered from his opening lap wreck, ended up in 33rd place and was strapped with a DNF.
There were 13 lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 22 laps. In addition, 25 of 34 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the fourth event of the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series season, Corey Heim leads the regular-season standings by eight points over Ty Majeski, 27 over Chandler Smith, 28 over Grant Enfinger, 39 over Stewart Friesen and 50 over Tyler Ankrum.
Race Results:
1. Kyle Larson, 20 laps led
2. Layne Riggs, three laps led
3. Corey Heim, 78 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
4. Tyler Ankrum
5. Daniel Hemric
6. Ross Chastain, 33 laps led
7. Jake Garcia
8. Chandler Smith
9. Grant Enfinger
10. Kaden Honeycutt
11. Ty Majeski
12. Brandon Jones
13. Matt Crafton
14. Matt Mills
15. Corey Day
16. Stewart Friesen
17. Tanner Gray
18. Stefan Parsons
19. Connor Mosack
20. Luke Fenhaus
21. Jack Wood
22. Rajah Caruth
23. Dawson Sutton
24. Frankie Muniz
25. Andres Perez de Lara
26. Toni Breidinger, one lap down
27. Nathan Byrd, one lap down
28. Spencer Boyd, one lap down
29. Giovanni Ruggiero, three laps down
30. Keith McGee, four laps down
31. Michel Disdier, six laps down
32. Akinori Ogata, 10 laps down
33. Ben Rhodes – OUT, Suspension
34. Stephen Mallozzi – OUT, Vibration
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is Martinsville Speedway for the Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200, which will also serve as the first of three Triple Truck Challenge events of this season. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, March 28, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
