Toyota GAZOO Racing – NCTS Rockingham Post-Race Report – 04.18.25

HEIM LEADS MOST LAPS IN TRUCK SERIES RETURN TO ROCKINGHAM
Pit strategy doesn’t go Heim’s way as he earns his fifth straight top-10 finish.

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (April 18, 2025) – Corey Heim led 52 laps and led Toyota with an eighth-place finish in the NASCAR Truck Series’ return to Rockingham Speedway on Friday evening. His teammate and fellow Toyota Development Driver, Gio Ruggiero, had another strong run and scored his second straight top-10 finish.

Heim continues to lead the point standings as the Truck Series takes next weekend off before returning to Texas Motor Speedway on May 2.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS)
Rockingham Speedway
Race 7 of 23 – 188 Miles, 200 Laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Tyler Ankrum*
2nd, Jake Garcia*
3rd, Daniel Hemric*
4th, Rajah Caruth*
5th, Grant Enfinger*
8th, COREY HEIM
10th, GIO RUGGIERO
17th, BRANDON JONES
18th, TONI BREIDINGER
21st, TIMMY HILL
28th, TANNER GRAY
29th, STEWART FRIESEN
34th, JUSTIN CARROLL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

COREY HEIM, No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 8th

How do you reflect on this one?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I thought we were really good all day. I had a really good Tundra TRD Pro. Huge thank you to Safelite, Toyota, TRICON for all of their efforts. I felt like if we had the track position we would have been in really good shape from the very start. Just didn’t have a good qualifying effort on my end. It was kind of an uphill battle from there all day. I didn’t exactly know what happened there the last 40 laps there, but we pitted, and it seems like some of the other guys didn’t run of fuel. Unfortunate. Just a weird deal in that last stage but have to be better on my part to qualifying better and have the track position – again, big thank you to TRICON Garage, Safelite and Toyota for all of their efforts.”

GIO RUGGIERO, No. 17 First Auto Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 10th

Second straight top-10 for you. How was racing at The Rock?

“It was pretty cool. I had a lot of fun racing here today. Super fast track. We were out front for a while. I thought our First Auto Group Tundra drove really good in clear air. We definitely improved on a couple of things, so we have a lot of great momentum moving into the next one.”

STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing

Finishing Position: 29th

What was your perspective?

“Big thank you to all of my guys. I was trying to go wide open in qualifying and kissed the wall. They did a really good job putting it back together – it was just as fast as it ended practice. Was just trying to bide our time. Saw Rajah (Caruth) get loose, tried to check-up as much as I could, and then just got run over. It is what it is.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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