Corey Heim made it known to the NASCAR community that it was his time to emerge as a champion. He did so by capping off a dominant season with a thrilling double-overtime victory in the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, October 31, while also locking up his first series’ championship.
The 23-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led four times for 100 of 161 overscheduled laps in a finale where he started sixth and marched his way to the front as he led for the first time on Lap 22. After sweeping both stages and leading a majority of the final stage period at the start, Heim was racing in second place on the track while leading the driver’s championship battle over title rivals Ty Majeski and Kaden Honeycutt when a late-race caution with three laps remaining stalled Heim’s path to the title.
During the caution period, Heim, who opted to pit with nearly the entire field as the event was sent into overtime, was given four fresh tires installed to his entry while Majeski and Honeycutt pitted for only two fresh tires. Despite restarting 10th for a first overtime attempt, Heim used his four fresh tires to execute a bold seven-wide move and move up to second place behind Majeski before the field was sent into a second overtime attempt due to a multi-truck wreck.
At the start of the second overtime attempt, Heim was not to be denied, overtaking Majeski for good before the final lap. With the lead in his possession and four fresh tires to his advantage, Heim proceeded to win an unprecedented 12th time in 2025. As a result, he claimed his first Truck Series championship in his third full-time campaign in the series.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Layne Riggs qualified on pole position with a pole-winning lap at 134.796 mph in 26.707 seconds. Riggs, however, was forced to start at the rear of the field. He also had to serve a drive-through penalty through pit road at the event’s start. This was due to his entry having an unapproved modification and failing the pre-race inspection procedure.
As a result, Chandler Smith, who qualified at 134.710 mph in 26.724 seconds, led the field to the green flag and he shared the front row with Brent Crews, the latter of whom qualified at 134.635 mph in 26.739 seconds. Meanwhile, Championship 4 finalists Kaden Honeycutt, Corey Heim, Ty Majeski and Tyler Ankrum qualified fifth, sixth, eighth and 21st, respectively.
When the green flag waved and the finale commenced, the field fanned out across multiple lanes through the frontstretch’s dogleg as Kaden Honeycutt went beneath Chandler Smith and Brent Crews in an early bid for the lead. Then as the field navigated through the first two turns, the first caution flew when Daniel Hemric, who was racing outside the top-20 mark, slipped up the track, made contact with Cole Butcher and drove Dawson Sutton into the outside wall. The incident knocked both Sutton and Hemric out of contention.
During the caution period, Honeycutt and Jack Wood were sent to the rear of the field for changing lanes before reaching the start/finish line to commence the event.
The start of the next restart on the sixth lap featured Smith and Crews leading the field through the frontstretch’s dogleg as Rajah Caruth split the latter two through the middle lane as he made a bid for the lead entering the first turn. As Caruth appeared to have the edge from the middle lane, Smith used the outside lane to motor ahead. Smith proceeded to lead the next two laps while Caruth, Crews, Corey Heim and Ty Majeski followed suit.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Smith was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Heim as the latter overtook Caruth for the runner-up spot. Behind, Caruth, Crews and Majeski were racing in the top five while Tanner Gray, rookie Giovanni Ruggiero, Corey LaJoie, Stefan Parsons and Tyler Reif occupied the top 10 ahead of Bayley Currey, Jake Garcia, Ben Rhodes, Andres Perez De Lara and Tyler Ankrum. Meanwhile, Honeycutt, who served his pass-through penalty, marched his way up to 22nd place while Riggs was mired in 32nd place.
Ten laps later, Smith stabilized his early lead to two-tenths of a second over Heim, while third-place Crews trailed by six-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Majeski occupied fourth place and he trailed the lead by more than two seconds while Honeycutt and Ankrum were scored in 12th and 18th, respectively.
Another lap later, Heim, who was reeling in Smith for the lead, executed a bold overtake on Smith through the frontstretch to assume the top spot. As Heim proceeded to lead by six-tenths of a second by the Lap 25 mark, Majeski, his closest title-rival competitor on the track, was mired in fourth place and trailing the lead by more than two seconds. Meanwhile, Honeycutt carved his way back into the top-10 mark as he trailed the lead by within 10 seconds, while Ankrum was mired in 15th place and trailing the lead by within 15 seconds.
At the Lap 35 mark, Heim stretched his advantage to more than a second over teammate Crews while Majeski, Caruth, Tanner Gray, LaJoie, Ruggiero, Honeycutt, Parsons and Perez De Lara trailed in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Smith, who pitted under green flag with a vibration, was mired a lap down in 29th place and teammate Riggs was up to 22nd place while Ankrum retained 15th place.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Heim cruised to his 22nd stage victory of the 2025 season as his lead stood to seven-tenths of a second over teammate Crews. Majeski settled in third place while Caruth, Tanner Gray, LaJoie, Honeycutt, Parsons, Garcia and Ruggiero were scored in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Ankrum settled in 14th place in front of Matt Crafton while Riggs was up to 17th place behind Ben Rhodes.
Under the first stage break period, the lead lap field led by Heim pitted for a first round of service. Following the pit stops, Heim barely beat Caruth off of pit road first and they were followed by Crews, Majeski, Gray, Ruggiero, Connor Mosack, Garcia, Honeycutt and Parsons.
The second stage period started on Lap 54 as Heim and Caruth occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg as Heim used the outside lane to motor his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry ahead of Caruth and the field through the first two turns. As Heim led the next two laps, Caruth was being pressured by Majeski for the runner-up spot while Crews, Ruggiero, Tanner Gray and Honeycutt followed suit.
Through the Lap 60 mark, Heim was leading by one-and-a-half seconds over Majeski while Crews and Caruth battled for third place. Behind, Honeycutt moved up to fifth place in front of Gray as Ruggiero, Garcia, Parsons, Perez De Lara, Currey, Mosack, Riggs, LaJoie, and Ankrum, while Chandler Smith, the first competitor a lap down, was strapped in 23rd place.
At the halfway mark on Lap 75, Heim, who has led since the start of the second stage period, continued to lead both the race and the championship battle by more than a second over his closest rival, Majeski. Meanwhile, Honeycutt, the next-closest title rival on the track, was scored in fourth place and trailing the lead by nearly seven seconds, while Ankrum was mired in 16th place and trailing by 18 seconds.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Heim captured his season-leading and career-high 23rd stage victory of the 2025 season. Majeski followed suit in second by more than a second, while Crews, Honeycutt, Caruth, Gray, Riggs, Garcia, Parsons and Ruggiero were scored in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Ankrum was mired back in 17th place behind Rhodes and Grant Enfinger.
During the second stage break period, the lead lap field led by Heim returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Majeski beat Heim off of pit road first and they were followed by Crews, Caruth, Gray, Honeycutt, Riggs, Garcia, Ruggiero and Bayley Currey.
With 51 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as championship rivals Majeski and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, both dueled in front of the packed field through the frontstretch’s dogleg. Through the first two turns, Majeski used the outside lane to gain a slight advantage over Heim, but Heim drew himself back alongside Majeski from the inside lane through the backstretch. With a strong dive move beneath Majeski through Turns 3 and 4, Heim cycled back to the frontstretch and led the next lap.
Down to the final 45 laps of the event, Heim was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Majeski as Crews, Honeycutt and Riggs followed suit in the top five, respectively. Meanwhile, Caruth, Gray, Ruggiero, Garcia and LaJoie were racing in the top 10 as Currey, Parsons, Enfinger, Rhodes and Butcher occupied the top-15 mark. Meanwhile, Ankrum was mired in 18th place as Heim proceeded to lead by nearly one-and-a-half seconds with 40 laps remaining.
Shortly after, the caution flew when Clayton Green spun through the first two turns. During the caution period, some, including Riggs, Caruth, Ruggiero, LaJoie, Currey, Parsons, Enfinger, Rhodes, Tyler Reif, Perez De Lara, Mosack, Jack Wood and Matt Crafton pitted their respective entries. The rest, led by Hei,m remained on the track.
The start of the next restart came with 33 laps remaining, but lasted only a lap when trouble ignited within the midfield region. Perez De Lara, who had Ankrum and Caruth nearly colliding into one another in front of him, reacted by veering right and making contact with both teammates, Bayley Currey and Ruggiero. As Perez De Lara clipped Rhodes, the former was sent head-on into the outside wall in Turn 3 along with Currey and Ruggiero, with Perez De Lara’s truck nearly flipping amid the hard impact.
The latest multi-truck incident not only drew a caution, but it also placed the event in a red flag period for eight minutes and 41 seconds. At the moment of caution, Heim was scored the leader over title rivals Majeski and Honeycutt while Riggs, Garcia, Gray, LaJoie, Mosack, Caruth, Parsons and Ankrum followed suit.
When the red flag lifted and the field led by Heim proceeded under a cautious pace, select names that included Gray, Ankrum and Cole Butcher pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Heim remained on the track.
As the event restarted under green with 27 laps remaining, Heim and Majeski dueled for the top spot ahead of Honeycutt, Riggs and the field through the frontstretch before Heim used the outside lane to motor ahead. As Heim proceeded to lead Majeski over the next two laps, Riggs, who recently pitted for fresh tires, motored his No. 34 Love’s Ford F-150 entry into third place after he passed Honeycutt. Not long after Riggs overtook Majeski for second place, the former used the outside lane through the first two turns to assume the race lead from Heim with 24 laps remaining. With Riggs leading the race and in prime position to claim the owner’s title, Heim retained the lead in the driver’s standings in front of Majeski and Honeycutt.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Riggs was leading both the race and the owner’s championship battle by four-tenths of a second over Heim as Heim continued to lead the driver’s championship battle in front of Majeski and Honeycutt. Meanwhile, Ankrum, who pitted during the previous caution, battled Tyler Reif for 11th place. Over the next five laps, Ankrum solidified himself in 11th place and both Majeski and Honeycutt kept Heim within their sights on the track. Meanwhile, Riggs retained the lead of the event by six-tenths of a second.
With 10 laps remaining, Riggs was scored the leader by half a second over Heim as the latter continued to race in front of Majeski by eight-tenths of a second and in front of Honeycutt by nearly two seconds, with the latter trio remaining within close reach of one another for the driver’s championship. During the next five laps, Riggs stabilized his late lead to half a second while Heim, who began to grow his advantage and was inching closer to his first championship, was ahead of Majeski by more than a second. Meanwhile, Honeycutt trailed Heim by two seconds while Ankrum was mired in ninth place on the track.
Then with three laps remaining, the caution flew, and the event was sent into overtime when Connor Mosack, whose entry was smoking due to a tire rub, hit the frontstretch wall and drew sparks both from his left-front area with a flat tire detected and damage to his entry’s right side.
During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Riggs and including Championship 4 finalists Heim, Majeski, Honeycutt and Ankrum pitted while Parsons and Butcher remained on the track. Following the pit stops and as mixed pit strategies occurred, Majeski, who pitted for only two fresh tires, exited pit road first and he was followed by Caruth, Honeycutt, Enfinger, Gray and Ankrum. Meanwhile, Riggs and Heim, both of whom pitted for four tires, exited seventh and eighth.
The start of the first overtime attempt featured the front-runners and the field fanning out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch as Majeski, Honeycutt, Caruth and Enfinger all intimidated Parsons and Butcher for the top spot on two fresher tires. Then exiting the frontstretch, Heim, who restarted in 10th place, used his four fresh tires to dive as low as he could through the first two turns as the front-runners fanned out to seven lanes. As the field navigated through the first two turns, Majeski used the outside lane to zip ahead of Heim while Honeycutt and Caruth followed suit.
Then entering Turn 3, the caution flew and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt when Enfinger, who was trying to squeeze his way beneath Ankrum, Gray and Butcher with a four-wide move, made contact with Ankrum and Butcher as the trio, including Gray, went up the track and collided into the Turn 3 outside wall while also clipping and sending Parsons for a spin. At the time of caution, Majeski was scored as the leader over Heim and Honeycutt, but he did not take the white flag prior to the caution being displayed. Before overtime, the event was sent into a second red flag period for four minutes and 48 seconds due to the latest carnage.
When the red flag lifted and the field restarted for a second overtime attempt, Majeski attempted to motor ahead of Heim through the frontstretch’s dogleg. Heim, though, used his four fresh tires to slide up the track and overtake Majeski through the first two turns. With the clean air to his advantage, Heim led through the backstretch while Majeski, Honeycutt, Riggs, Caruth, LaJoie and the rest of the field pursued.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim was leading by six-tenths of a second over Majeski and nine-tenths over Honeycutt while Riggs and Caruth followed suit in the top five. With Majeski unable to reel in Heim, the latter smoothly navigated his way around Phoenix for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag to win both the finale and the championship by nine-tenths of a second.
By winning for a record-setting 12th time in 2025 and adding his total wins column to 23, Heim became the 22nd competitor overall to win a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. He also became the first Georgian ever and the first Toyota competitor in four seasons to accomplish the feat of being a champion in the Truck division.
Tonight’s finale at Phoenix marks the fifth time since 2016 and the series’ current Playoff-elimination format where the finale was won by the championship-winning competitor. In addition, Heim became the eighth competitor to claim a Truck title for the first time ever under the format. The 2025 Truck Series championship was a first, both on the driver’s and owner’s side, for TRICON Garage while crew chief Scott Zipadelli achieved his second series title.
Heim’s 2025 championship, which occurred in his third full-time campaign in the Truck circuit and with TRICON Garage, was one that capped off a total dominant year for the Georgian and his No. 11 Toyota team. In addition to winning both the regular-season, the season-ending title and a series-recording 12 races, Heim notched seven poles, 19 top-five results, 21 top-10 results, 1,625 laps led and an average-finishing result of 5.0 throughout this year’s 25-race schedule. He also became the first competitor to lead in all 25 races throughout this season and he completed all but four laps registered throughout the schedule.
Despite uncertainties lingering over his racing plans for the 2026 season, Heim soaked in his first championship-winning experience both on the frontstretch and on the championship stage as he solidified his name as a NASCAR champion.
“I just am so grateful to be where I’m at,” Heim said on the frontstretch on FS1. “[I’m] Just so thankful for TRICON Garage, Toyota for taking a chance on me years ago…I was so stressed out ever since we went to the [Charlotte] Roval because I knew we had to defend this insane year we’ve been having. I’ve been like so terrible to just talk to as a person. I’ve been so stressed out, but this just is such a relief, to say the least. [I’m] Just so thankful for everybody. There’s such a long list of names, but just so thankful for everyone involved.”
During his championship interview, Heim credited his crew chief Scott Zipadelli for the late-race pit call for four fresh tires that enabled Heim to motor his way to the front and win both the finale and the championship.
“I don’t care if I was on hundred-lap tires,” Heim added. “No one was going to beat me tonight. It wasn’t going to happen. We struggled all weekend, really, in practice, we had some issues in qualifying. We missed [the adjustments] a little bit, but you can always trust Scott up on the [pit] box. To do everything he can to put me in a position to win the race and that’s what he did. [I] Just drove [the truck] in deep until I couldn’t anymore and just drove away with it. It’s Heim Time tonight, for sure.”
As Heim celebrated his championship, Ty Majeski settled in the runner-up spot both on the track and in the final championship standings. Despite capping off the 2025 season with zero victories and falling one spot short of winning back-to-back titles, Majeski, who had a late-race opportunity to win on two fresh tires, wraps up the season with 10 top-five results, 18 top-10 results, 199 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.8. Majeski will replace his retiring teammate and three-time champion Matt Crafton in the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 entry in 2026 as he will make another bid for a second title.
“Yeah, [I’m] really just proud of the whole season that this group put together,” Majeski said. “I thought we were poised to do something very special tonight. Honestly, [I was] just a little bit short. Very close tonight at portions of the run to [Heim]. I thought at times we were actually better than him, but overall, he was just too strong, and I couldn’t get a good enough restart to take advantage of when in the run my truck was better. I wished we could’ve been two-time [champions] tonight, but [I’m] just really proud of the effort and thankful for this opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Kaden Honeycutt, who made a mid-season swap from Niece Motorsports to Halmar Friesen Racing to replace the injured Stewart Friesen and contended in his first Championship 4 appearance as a title contender, settled in third place both on the track and in the final standings. Nevertheless, Honeycutt was left satisfied with a season that generated four top-five results, 14 top-10 results, 51 laps led and an average-finishing result of 12.8. While his plans for the 2026 season have not yet been announced, Honeycutt will return to the Truck Series division next season and bid for both his first victory and another Championship 4 bid.
“[I have] Definitely nothing to hang my head about [tonight’s finish], for sure,” Honeycutt said. “My goal when I signed up this year was to at least be here and we did that. Any shape, profession, for sure. [It] Definitely was a crazy journey to be here. Thanks to everyone that’s supported me and been in my corner. We’re looking forward to next year and hopefully, have Stewart [Freisen] back in this [No. 52] seat where he belongs with this team.”
Lastly, Tyler Ankrum, who was involved in the multi-truck accident during the first overtime attempt, could only carve his way to a 14th-place result when the checkered flag flew for a career-best fourth place in his first Championship 4 appearance as a title finalist. Like Honeycutt, Ankrum was left pleased in a season where he snapped a six-year winless drought by winning at Rockingham Speedway in April. Ankrum also racked up eight top-five results, 15 top-10 results, 102 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.8 throughout the 2025 season. He will remain at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2026, where he will make another Championship 4 bid.
“[There’s] Not much to complain about, overall, in the whole year,” Ankrum said. “[I] Wish we would’ve just shown better [competitiveness] in the Final Four, but we’ll be back here next year.”
Layne Riggs, who made a late rally to contend for the owner’s championship, settled in fourth place on the track and in fifth place in the final driver’s standings. Rajah Caruth, who settled in sixth place in the standings, claimed fifth place on the track at Phoenix while Jake Garcia, Corey LaJoie, Chandler Smith, Tyler Reif and Jack Wood completed the top 10.
Notably, Matt Crafton finished 13th in his 592nd consecutive and final start as a full-time NASCAR Truck Series competitor. In addition, Giovanni Ruggiero, who was unable to finish the finale but settled in 11th place in the standings, claimed the 2025 Truck Series’ Rookie-of-the-Year title.
The finale featured 10 lead changes for six different leaders, and seven cautions for laps. In addition, 15 of 34 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results:
1. Corey Heim, 100 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
2. Ty Majeski, nine laps led
3. Kaden Honeycutt
4. Layne Riggs, 24 laps led
5. Rajah Caruth, three laps led
6. Jake Garcia
7. Corey LaJoie
8. Chandler Smith, 21 laps led
9. Tyler Reif
10. Jack Wood
11. Matt Mills
12. Stefan Parsons, four laps led
13. Matt Crafton
14. Tyler Ankrum
15. Nathan Byrd
16. Luke Baldwin, one lap down
17. Spencer Boyd, two laps down
18. Greg Van Alst, two laps down
19. Frankie Muniz, two laps down
20. Clayton Green, three laps down
21. Caleb Costner, four laps down
22. Caleb Costner, four laps down
23. Cole Butcher – OUT, Accident
24. Grant Enfinger – OUT, Accident
25. Toni Breidinger, eight laps down
26. Connor Mosack – OUT Accident
27. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident
28. Brent Crews – OUT, Axle
29. Ben Rhodes – OUT, Accident
30. Andres Perez de Lara – OUT, Accident
31. Giovanni Ruggiero – OUT, Accident
32. Mason Maggio – OUT, Engine
33. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident
34. Dawson Sutton – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates Championship 4 contenders
Final standings
1. Corey Heim
2. Ty Majeski
3. Kaden Honeycutt
4. Tyler Ankrum
5. Layne Riggs
6. Rajah Caruth
7. Grant Enfinger
8. Chandler Smith
9. Daniel Hemric
10. Jake Garcia
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 13, 2026, for a new season of competition.
