Corey Heim rallied from early adversity on the opening lap that damaged his entry to win the inaugural running of the Truck Series Ecosave 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in overtime on Friday, October 3.
The 23-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led six of 70 overscheduled laps in an event after qualifying on the pole. However, he lost the lead on the opening lap following an incident with Playoff contenders Layne Riggs and Grant Enfinger. Plummeting towards the bottom of the leaderboard, Heim spent a majority of the event carving his damaged truck back up the leaderboard. Meanwhile, teammate Brent Crews dominated with the lead.
Through methodical driving and smooth executions through pit strategies, Heim was initially poised to settle in the runner-up spot behind Crews when a late-race caution with three laps remaining due to teammate Toni Breidinger stalled on the track presented an opportunity for Heim. As Heim was among a handful of competitors who elected to not pit while teammate Crews did prior to an overtime shootout, Heim then had enough horsepower to fend off teammates Crews and Giovanni Ruggiero during an overtime shootout to notch his unprecedented 10th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2025 season. Heim’s victory also enabled him to secure an early automatic berth to the Championship 4 round as he will contend for this year’s series’ championship.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, October 3, Playoff contender Corey Heim notched his seventh Truck pole position of the 2025 season and the 14th of his career with a pole-winning lap at 96.492 mph in 85.064 seconds. Heim shared the front row with Playoff contender Layne Riggs, the latter of whom posted his best qualifying lap at 96.261 mph in 85.268 seconds.
Prior to the event, teammates Josh Reaume and Carter Fartuch also dropped to the rear of the field due to driver change and engine/transmission changes to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the Truck Series event commenced, early trouble ignited entering the first turn. Playoff contender Grant Enfinger turned Layne Riggs into Corey Heim. The contact sent Riggs spinning through the first turn while both Heim and Enfinger drove off the track as Heim also hit the tire barriers on the right side. As the rest of the field scattered to avoid the carnage, the trio of Riggs, Heim and Enfinger managed to continue without drawing a caution and they pitted to have their respective entries repaired.
Amid the carnage, Brent Crews escaped with the lead. He led the field through the infield turns (Turns 1-6) and a sharp left-hand turn of Turn 7 before he navigated back on Charlotte’s oval-shaped circuit. Through the remaining turns of Turns 8 to 17, including a backstretch and frontstretch chicane, Crews led the first lap over Playoff contender Kaden Honeycutt and Giovanni Ruggiero. Playoff contender Ty Majeski and Connor Zilisch trailed in the top five.
During the second lap, more on-track carnage ensued. Ben Rhodes, racing in the top-15 mark, slid off the track entering Turn 6 and collided into the tire barriers. The caution initially did not fly following Rhodes’s incident. But as Rhodes limped his demolished No. 99 TSport Ford F-150 Truck Series entry around the circuit and back to the infield, the caution flew.
The start of the following restart on the sixth lap featured Crews rocketing his No. 1 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry away from teammate Ruggiero, Honeycutt and the rest of the field through the first turn, the infield turns and the left-hand turn in Turn 7 before the field navigated through the remaining oval turns and chicanes on the backstretch and frontstretch. Despite a spin involving Timmy Hill occurring on the frontstretch chicane, the race remained under green flag conditions as Crews led the following lap.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Crews was leading by four seconds over teammate Ruggiero. Honeycutt, Connor Zilisch and Ty Majeski occupied the top five spots. Josh Bilicki, Parker Kligerman, Playoff contender Tyler Ankrum, Tanner Gray and Playoff contender Rajah Caruth followed in the top-10. Behind, Connor Mosack occupied 11th place ahead of Andres Perez De Lara, Daniel Hemric, Bayley Currey, Jake Garcia and Matt Crafton. Heim navigated his way up to 17th place. Meanwhile, Riggs and Enfinger were mired in 20th and 22nd, respectively.
Five laps later, Crews extended his advantage to six seconds over both Ruggiero and Zilisch while Honeycutt and Majeski continued to trail in the top five by single digits. Meanwhile, Kligerman had plummeted to 27th place due to reports of a broken rear end to his entry while Chandler Smith spun by himself through the frontstretch chicane.
Two laps later, early pit strategies within the field ensued as a bevy of names that included Zilisch, Bilicki, Mosack, Heim, Enfinger, Perez De Lara, Bayley Currey, Tanner Gray, Matt Crafton and Matt Mils pitted their respective entries under green flag conditions. During the pit stops, Mills collided into the side of teammate Currey. Amid the incident, Crews surrendered the lead to pit during the next lap along with teammate Ruggiero while Honeycutt cycled into the lead.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Honeycutt fended off Majeski to capture his first Truck stage victory of the 2025 season. Ankrum, Hemric and Crews followed suit in the top five. Zilisch, Caruth, Ruggiero, Corey LaJoie and Riggs (who was racing with a broken sway bar) were scored in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Heim was mired back in 17th place while Enfinger was in 23rd place.
Under the first stage break period, some led by Honeycutt and including Majeski, Ankrum, Hemric, Caruth and Riggs pitted. The rest, led by Crews, remained on the track.
The second stage period started on Lap 24 as Crews and Zilisch occupied the front row. At the start, Crews muscled away from Zilisch and the rest of the field through the first turn and the infield turns before he made the sharp left-hand turn in Turn 7 and led through the oval turns. With Jake Garcia spinning in Turn 7, the race remained under green flag conditions. Crews proceeded to lead the following lap over Zilisch, LaJoie, Ruggiero and Bilicki.
As the race progressed, a pair of incidents occurred. Kris Wright spun in Turn 6 while Dawson Sutton and Timmy Hill, both of whom had tangled earlier in the event, tangled again and Sutton hit an infield sign through the frontstretch chicane. Amid both incidents, the race remained under green flag conditions. Crews retained the lead by more than three seconds over Zilisch at the Lap 30 mark. Meanwhile, Heim had carved his way up to third place over Bilicki and Ruggiero. Honeycutt, Curey, LaJoie, Enfinger and Chandler Smith trailed in the top 10.
On Lap 36 and with a tire carcass being spotted towards a turn apron, select names that included Mosack, Ruggiero and Tanner Gray pitted their respective entries under green flag conditions before more names that included Zilisch, Bilicki, Currey, Chandler Smith, Majeski, Jack Wood, Garcia and Riggs pitted during the next lap. The race, though, remained under green flag conditions amid the tire carcass.
Crews then mirrored his move towards the conclusion of the first stage period by pitting before the second stage’s conclusion, along with teammate Heim. Honeycutt elected to remain on the track and inherit the lead.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 40, Honeycutt cruised to his second consecutive Truck stage victory of the event. Enfinger trailed in second place by seven seconds. Caruth, Hemric, Crews, Ankrum, Zilisch, Heim, Matt Mills and Bilicki were scored in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Majeski and Riggs were mired in 17th and 23rd as 31 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.
During the second stage break period, some led by Honeycutt and including Enfinger, Caruth, Hemric and Ankrum pitted. The rest, led by Crews, remained on the track.
With 23 laps remaining, the final stage period at Charlotte commenced as Crews and Zilisch occupied the front row. At the start, Crews fended off Zilisch through the first turn to retain the lead. Crews proceeded to fend off Zilisch through the infield turns and a left-hand turn of Turn 7. Heim reeled in from fourth place. Behind, Ruggiero shoved Currey into Bilicki as Bilicki spun in Turn 7. But the event remained under green flag conditions while Crews led the following lap.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Crews stabilized his lead to more than a second over runner-up Zilisch. He was nearly two seconds over Heim in third place. Currey and Majeski completed the top five ahead of Mosack, Ruggiero, Riggs, Honeycutt and Chandler Smith. By then, Playoff contenders Enfinger, Ankrum, Caruth and Hemric were mired in 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th, respectively.
Five laps later, Crews extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Heim in the runner-up spot. Zilisch, Majeski and Mosack completed the top-five spots ahead of Honeycutt, Ruggiero, LaJoie, Riggs and Chandler Smith. Meanwhile, Ankrum, who was racing in the top 15, had plummeted to 23rd place after he spun in Turn 7. Caruth, Enfinger and Hemric were scored in 13th, 15th and 16th, respectively.
With 10 laps remaining, Crews continued to lead by more than three seconds over teammate Heim while Zilisch, Majeski and Honeycutt followed suit along with Mosack, Ruggiero, LaJoie, Riggs and Chandler Smith. Meanwhile, Matt Crafton, who was racing within the top-15 mark, was mired back in 23rd place after he got bumped by Currey in Turn 7.
Down to the final five laps, Crews, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, maintained his lead by more than a second over teammate Heim, with Heim having shaved some of his deficit to Crews, while Zilisch trailed by in third place. As the rest of the field led by top-five competitors Majeski and Honeycutt trailed by double digits, Crews continued to methodically navigate his way through every turn and straightaway around the Charlotte Roval.
Then with three laps remaining, the caution flew when Toni Breidinger stalled just past Turn 5. The caution all but stalled Crews’ steady advantage over teammate Heim, but also generated fuel concerns for Crews. During the caution period, a number of competitors led by Crews and including Zilisch, Majeski, Honeycutt, Ruggiero, LaJoie, Caruth, Enfinger, Hemric and Ankrum while the rest led by Heim and including Mosack, Riggs and Chandler Smith remained on the track.
At the start of overtime, Heim rocketed away from Mosack, Chandler Smith, Majeski and the field entering the first turn while Riggs, who went wide prior to the restart, fell off the pace due to a clutch issue. As Heim continued to lead through both the infield turns and Turn 7, trouble occurred in Turn 7 as Chandler Smith was bumped and sent for a spin by Mosack, who was rubbing fenders with Majeski. The carnage enabled Crews, who restarted seventh on four fresh tires, to navigate his way into the runner-up spot as he was followed by teammate Ruggiero, Caruth, Honeycutt and Zilisch. Amid the jostling within the field, Heim proceeded to lead through both the backstretch and frontstretch chicanes.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained in the lead by two seconds over teammates Crews and Ruggiero. As more on-track incidents ensued through every turn and straightaway, Heim was able to smoothly navigate his damaged No. 11 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry around the Charlotte Roval circuit for a final time before he navigated his way through the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by more than a second over teammate Crews.
With the victory, Heim set a record for the most victories recorded in a single Truck Series season at 10. The previous record was held by Greg Biffle, who won nine races in 1999. Heim also achieved his third road course victory of the 2025 season, his sixth victory over the previous eight races and he completed a clean sweep of both Charlotte Truck races in 2025.
Above all, Heim, who notched his 21st career victory, secured a berth to the Championship 4 round for a third consecutive season. In three races, the Georgian will contend for his first Craftsman Truck Series championship during the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway.
“Once the right front was buried in the fence, I thought we were pretty much done,” Heim said. “It is honestly pretty wild that we didn’t have any completely break from that incident and have to roll around half the pace all day. [The truck] certainly wasn’t as good as it was in practice. I thought we were pretty lights out, and pretty much a P1 potential truck all the way through practice and qualifying, but had to fight for it.
I’m so thankful for this TRICON [Racing] group and their resilience – to be able to make my steering wheel from 90 degrees left down the straightaways, all towed out and messed up, to a competitive truck there in the end, it is pretty incredible to say the least. To have all the success we’ve had this year, it just shows I’m working with the best group in the garage.”
As Heim celebrated his comeback victory, Brent Crews, who led a race-high 56 laps, was left strapped in a career-best second-place result in his eighth Truck Series start. Amid the disappointment, Crews was also left satisfied with his strong performance and being in contention for his first series victory.
“I can take a lot away from today,” Crews said. “[I] Just want to thank the good Lord above for keeping me safe. This has been a really fun week working with Trevor [Bayne] and Blake [Koch] at home, working on my craft, getting better and better every day. We had a really fast JBL Toyota Tundra today. Just grateful to keep running races and keep learning more and more. We had a super fast truck as you guys got to see with us out front leading the race today. I had a blast. Just really happy for TRICON to be able to go 1-2-3 [finish] there. Congrats to the whole No. 11 team. They did a great job all day as well. It definitely sucks, but learned a lot today and grateful for all the fans that came out today and glad we had a shot at it.”
Giovanni Ruggiero finished in third place behind teammates Heim and Crews. As a result, TRICON Garage achieved its first 1-2-3 finish in the team’s history.
Rajah Caruth made a late charge to finish in fourth place ahead of teammate Connor Zilisch. Josh Bilicki, Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum and Connor Mosack completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Notably, Daniel Hemric navigated his way from the rear of the field to 11th place, Kaden Honeycutt ended up in 14th place after he spun on the final lap and Layne Riggs dropped to 21st place following his late clutch issues.
There were eight lead changes for four different leaders. The event featured four cautions for 12 laps. In addition, 23 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results – Charlotte Roval:
1. Corey Heim, six laps led
2. Brent Crews, 56 laps led
3. Giovanni Ruggiero
4. Rajah Caruth
5. Connor Zilisch
6. Josh Bilicki
7. Grant Enfinger
8. Ty Majeski, one lap led
9. Tyler Ankrum
10. Connor Mosack
11. Daniel Hemric
12. Bayley Currey
13. Dawson Sutton
14. Kaden Honeycutt, seven laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
15. Will Rodgers
16. Timmy Hill
17. Matt Mills
18. Corey LaJoie
19. Chandler Smith
20. Spencer Boyd
21. Layne Riggs
22. Jack Wood
23. Jake Garcia
24. Matt Crafton, one lap down
25. Ben Maier, one lap down
26. Kris Wright, one lap down
27. Wesley Slimp, one lap down
28. Mason Maggio, one lap down
29. Tyler Tomassi, one lap down
30. Toni Breidinger – OUT, Electrical
31. Tanner Gray – OUT, Transmission
32. Andres Perez De Lara, 16 laps down
33. Josh Reaume – OUT, DVP
34. Carter Fartuch – OUT, Engine
35. Parker Kligerman – OUT, Suspension
36. Ben Rhodes – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders.
Playoff standings:
1. Corey Heim – Advanced
2. Tyler Ankrum +2
3. Daniel Hemric +2
4. Rajah Caruth +1
5. Layne Riggs -1
6. Ty Majeski -2
7. Grant Enfinger -4
8. Kaden Honeycutt -4
The Round of 8 in the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs continues at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, for the Love’s RV Stop 225. The event is scheduled to occur on October 17 and air at 4 p.m. ET on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.
