HEIM DRIVES THROUGH THE FIELD LATE TO LEAD TOYOTA AT KANSAS
Ruggiero scores third top-10 run in the last four races
KANSAS CITY (May 10, 2025) – Corey Heim overcame multiple issues to lead Toyota with a top-five in the NASCAR Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday evening. Heim, who won the first stage, restarted 21st with 23 laps to go after a penalty on the prior restart. The Toyota Development Driver charged the field to a fourth-place finish.
Heim’s fourth led four straight Tundras across the finish line as Rookie of the Year leader Gio Ruggiero finished fifth, Stewart Friesen was scored sixth and Xfinity Series regular Brandon Jones earned a seventh-place run.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS)
Kansas Motor Speedway
Race 9 of 23 – 201 Miles, 134 Laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Carson Hocevar*
2nd, Layne Riggs*
3rd, William Bryron*
4th, COREY HEIM
5th, GIO RUGGIERO
6th, STEWART FRIESEN
7th, BRANDON JONES
21st, TONI BREIDINGER
28th, TANNER GRAY
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
COREY HEIM, No. 11 Safelite + Foster Love Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 4th
Fourth-place finish for Corey Heim, after you found everything that could go wrong tonight. Can you describe that race?
“Yeah, for sure. Started out with that pit gun breaking – no fault to my pit crew there. They did an awesome job all night. It seemed like a situational kind of deal there and then caught on the exact wrong time on the green flag cycle – had to take the wave and start from the back again, and got out of line for a penalty on my part. Like you said, a roller coaster kind of day today. Very proud of everyone at TRICON Garage and Toyota. This Safelite, Foster Love Tundra was really fast today. I feel like we made a lot of gains on it throughout the race. We kind of struggled more in dirty air than I thought we would coming into this race, but regardless, I think we were still the best truck today. Certainly, disappointing after being able to sweep the year last year, but we will move forward.”
GIO RUGGIERO, No. 17 First Auto Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage
Finishing Position: 5th
Scored a top-five in your first time here at Kansas in a truck. What did you learn?
“I learned it is definitely pretty racy, especially on the restarts here – using all of the lanes up. It gets pretty aggressive there. That was fun. I tried to dig all day, and fight really hard with our First Auto Group Tundra. We were in the back for a while, so just proud of my guys for never giving up. The pit crew did a really good job. We had some really solid stops and kept picking up spots on pit road, so that helped us as well, so it was a step in the right direction for sure, but we need to run better next weekend.”
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.
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