Corey Heim weathered through two rain delays, cold temperatures and endless on-track actions from start to finish to earn a raw, hard-fought NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory in the Ecosave 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, March 14.
The 22-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led six times for a race-high 42 of 134-scheduled laps in an event where he started in 16th place and quickly carved his way to the front as he notched a top-five result at the first stage’s conclusion. Despite getting penalized for speeding on pit road during the first stage’s break period, Heim would then withstand a total of two red flag periods due to on-track precipitation to muscle his way back to the front as he claimed another top-five result at the second stage’s conclusion.
With a fast race truck and solid pit services from his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota team that enabled him to exit pit road first during a majority of pit services under caution, Heim, who led for the first time prior to the start of the final stage period, assumed the lead from Layne Riggs for the sixth and final time with 32 laps remaining. Heim’s final move to the lead occurred amid a late-race shootout with 34 laps remaining. He then fended off late challenges from teammate Tanner Gray and Grant Enfinger in the closing laps to notch his second victory of the 2025 season in Sin City.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Corey Day achieved his first Truck pole position of his career with a pole-winning lap at 177.702 mph in 30.388 seconds. Joining Day on the front row was Tyler Ankrum, who qualified with his best qualifying lap at 177.602 mph in 30.405 seconds.
Prior to the event, Layne Riggs and Nathan Byrd started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Corey Day and Tyler Ankrum dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Justin Haley drove to the rear bumper of teammate Day and gave the latter a push. This allowed Day to muscle his No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST entry ahead of Ankrum as Haley followed suit. With teammate Rajah Caruth also making his way into the top-three mark, Haley then made his move beneath Day in a bid for an early lead. Day would use the outside lane through the final two turns to fight back, but Haley would lead the first lap by a nose.
Shortly after, a three-wide action for the lead ensued as Ankrum rocketed to the lead after going beneath Haley and Day entering the first two turns. In the ensuing effect, the field fanned out to three lanes as Haley dropped to third while Day pursued Ankrum for the lead. As Ankrum led the second lap, Day and Jake Garcia followed suit while Haley was being overtaken by Ty Majeski for fourth place. Ankrum would proceed to lead to the fifth lap mark ahead of Day as Majeski challenged teammate Garcia for third place.
Through the first 10-scheduled laps, Ankrum fended off Day and Majeski to lead by two-tenths of a second while Garcia and rookie Giovanni Ruggiero followed suit in the top five. Meanwhile, Stewart Friesen, Corey Heim, Haley, Matt Crafton, Chandler Smith and Rajah Caruth were racing in the top 10 ahead of Tanner Gray, Matt Crafton, Dawson Sutton, Ben Rhodes and Connor Mosack while Kaden Honeycutt, Daniel Hemric, Bayley Currey, Grant Enfinger and Layne Riggs followed suit in the top 20, respectively.
A lap later, Day made a move to the outside of Ankrum as he led a lap for himself. Ankrum, however, would then muscle back ahead as he used the inside lane to his advantage while Day maintained his line on the outside lane as he continued to mount a charge for the lead. As William Sawalich pitted under green due to scrubbing the wall, Majeski, Garcia and Friesen followed suit in the top five while Heim and Ruggiero kept pace in the top-seven mark.
At the Lap 20 mark, Majeski, who overtook Day for the lead three laps earlier after Day, who had overtaken Ankrum for the lead, got loose in Turn 3, was leading by three-tenths of a second over Ankrum as Day fell back to third place. Majeski proceeded to stretch his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Ankrum by Lap 25 while third-place Day trailed by more than two seconds. Meanwhile, Heim and Friesen were in the top five while Garcia, Haley, Chandler Smith, Ruggiero and Caruth were in the top 10.
Then a lap later, the event’s first caution flew due to a light mist and precipitation falling on the track. With the field remaining on the track and the caution period being extended to the first stage’ conclusion period scheduled for Lap 30, Majeski coasted to his first Truck stage victory of the 2025 season. Ankrum followed suit in second ahead of Day, Heim and Friesen while Jake Garcia, Haley, Chandler Smith, Ruggiero and Caruth were scored in the top 10, respectively.
Under the stage break, the field led by Majeski peeled off the track to pit road for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Ben Rhodes exited pit road first after he opted for only a two-tire pit stop. He was followed by Heim, Ankrum, Day, Haley, Majeski, Friesen, Caruth, Luke Fenhaus, Dawson Sutton and Tanner Gray. Amid the pit stops, Heim was sent to the tail of the field due to speeding on pit road.
As the field cycled around the track under a cautious pace following the pit stops, the field led by Rhodes was directed back to pit road and the event was placed in a red flag period due to the continuous precipitation. Fifty-five minutes later, the field returned under a cautious pace as the track was dried from the precipitation. As the field returned to the track, Matt Crafton was sent to the tail end of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to his No. 88 Menards Ford F-150 entry during the red flag period.
When the race resumed under green to commence the second stage period on Lap 37, Ben Rhodes muscled his No. 99 TSPORT Ford F-150 entry away from the field from the inside lane and he would proceed to lead through the backstretch as Haley and Ankrum gave chase. Then exiting the backstretch, Ankrum, who restarted on the front row alongside Rhodes, darted his No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST entry to the left and beneath Rhodes as he rocketed to the lead. Ankrum would clear Rhodes entering Turn 4 and lead the following lap as the field behind jostled for spots. As Rhodes retained the runner-up spot ahead of Day, Chandler Smith, Majeski, Friesen and Haley, Ankrum led the Lap 40 mark.
Through Lap 45, a series of on-track battles towards the front, which had brewed since the start of the restart, continued to ensue as Ankrum maintained a steady advantage over Rhodes, Chandler Smith, Friesen and Day. Behind, Garcia, Haley, Caruth, Majeski and Tanner Gray followed suit in the top 10 while Kaden Honeycutt, Bayley Currey, Enfinger, Hemric and Heim occupied the top-15 spots.
Five laps later, the top-three competitors were separated by half a second as Ankrum retained the lead while Rhodes and Chandler Smith pursued. Chandler Smith would then overtake Rhodes for the runner-up spot another lap later as fourth-place Friesen started to close in on the three leaders. With Friesen overtaking Rhodes for third place not long after, Ankrum kept leading by within two-tenths of a second. Behind, Garcia retained fifth place while Haley, Day, Heim and Caruth battled for sixth place. Amid the battles, Ankrum continued to lead at the Lap 55 mark.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Ankrum fended off a late challenge from Chandler Smith to capture his first Truck stage victory of the 2025 season. Friesen followed suit in third place while Heim, Rhodes, Haley, Garcia, Caruth, Honeycutt and Corey Day were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, Majeski, who won the first stage period, settled in 13th place after he sustained right-side damage to his entry amid early contact with Day.
During the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Ankrum returned to pit road for service while Jack Wood, who made contact with the wall and lost a bevy of spots in the opening laps, remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Heim exited pit road first and he was followed by Friesen, Haley, Chandler smith, Enfinger, Honeycutt, Hemric, Caruth, Ankrum and Garcia, respectively.
Amid the pit stops, Luke Fenhaus was sent to the rear of the field due to having too many crew members over his pit wall during his pit service. In addition, Caruth was penalized for a safety violation while Honeycutt was also penalized for not filing in line with the field prior to entering pit road. Dawson Sutton would also be penalized for improper fueling to his entry.
During the caution period, Wood, who led two laps under a cautious pace, pitted with 69 laps remaining. This handed the lead to Heim, where he would retain the top spot under a cautious pace until he and the rest of the field were directed to pit road with 65 laps remaining. The event was then placed in a second red flag period due to precipitation returning.
Nineteen minutes later, the field led by Heim returned to the track under a cautious pace. Then following an extra cautious lap, the final stage period commenced under with 63 laps remaining as Heim and Friesen occupied the front row. At the start, Friesen received a push from Chandler Smith from the inside lane to launch his No. 52 Halmar Toyota Tundra TRD Pro entry ahead with the lead. As Friesen led through the backstretch, the field fanned out to multiple lanes as Haley threaded his way in between Heim and Chandler Smith for the runner-up spot. With the field still fanning out and jostling for late spots, Friesen led the following lap.
With 61 laps remaining, Heim drew himself in a side-by-side battle with Friesen for the lead. Both dueled through the frontstretch and the backstretch before Friesen muscled back ahead and led with 60 laps remaining. As Friesen retained the lead over Heim, Chandler Smith was in third place ahead of Haley, Garcia while Grant Enfinger and Layne Riggs gave chase. Over the next five laps, Chandler Smith and Haley fiercely battled for third place in front of Riggs, Garcia, Enfinger and Majeski while Friesen maintained a steady lead over Heim.
Then with nearly 50 laps remaining, the caution flew when Honeycutt, who was racing in eighth place, got loose underneath Garcia and slid his No. 45 AutoVentive/Precision Chevrolet Silverado RST entry sideways entering Turn 4. Honeycutt’s incident resulted with Ankrum taking evasive action, but the latter slid up and hit the outside wall. Amid the incident, Connor Mosack, who made contact with teammate Daniel Hemric during the previous restart, fell off the pace as he had a flat left-side tire.
During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Friesen pitted for fresh tires and fuel to reach the scheduled distance while Spencer Boyd remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Heim exited pit road first and he was followed by Friesen, Chandler Smith, Riggs, Enfinger, Hemric, Majeski, Honeycutt, Haley and Day, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Currey was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation, where a wheel rolled out of his pit box and onto the track.
Down to the final 44 laps of the event, the field restarted under green. At the start, Heim received a push from Friesen on the inside lane to rocket ahead with the lead. As Heim led through the backstretch, the field fanned out as Chandler Smith, who received a push from teammate Riggs through the backstretch, drew himself alongside Heim through Turns 3 and 4. Smith would then lead the following lap, but was unable to drive away from Heim as both dueled through the frontstretch.
Then amid the side-by-side battle, Riggs used the outside lane to overtake Smith. The former executed a bold move beneath Heim to move into the lead and clear Heim. As Riggs led, Heim was left to battle Chandler Smith and Majeski for the runner-up spot until Friesen bolted his way to a battle with Heim for the spot.
With 41 laps remaining, however, the caution returned when Jack Wood, who was racing towards the rear of the field, snapped sideways and backed his No. 91 Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet Silverado RST entry into the outside wall in Turn 4, which left him with heavy left-rear damage as he retired in the garage.
As the event restarted under green with 34 laps remaining, Riggs received a push from Majeski on the inside lane to briefly muscle ahead until Heim fought back through the first two turns. As the field fanned out, Riggs and Heim received respective pushes from Majeski and Friesen. They remained dead even as Riggs led the following lap by a hair. With Garcia falling off the pace due to a tire rub, multiple names that included Majeski, Haley, Friesen, Chandler Smith and Enfinger all joined the battle for the lead as Riggs and Heim dueled.
With 32 laps remaining, Heim received a push from Majeski to storm his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead of Riggs’ No. 34 Love’s Ford F-150 entry through the frontstretch and entering the first turn. Behind, Riggs retained second as Majeski and Friesen fiercely battled for third place in front of Haley, Enfinger as Tanner Gray joined the battle. Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Crafton would also join the battle as Heim led with 30 laps remaining.
Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Riggs, who was fiercely battling Tanner Gray for the runner-up spot, snapped sideways as he got loose underneath Gray entering the backstretch. Riggs, though, kept his truck racing straight as Gray assumed the runner-up spot. By then, Enfinger and Friesen also overtook Riggs to move up the top-five leaderboard as Heim maintained a reasonable lead.
Riggs would proceed to battle fiercely with Majeski for fifth place while Caruth and Crafton dueled for seventh place in front of Rhodes and Chandler Smith. Meanwhile, Tanner Gray and Enfinger started to close in on Heim for the top spot as the latter led by nearly half a second. As Gray was left to battle Enfinger for the runner-up spot, Heim led by a tenth of a second with 20 laps remaining.
With 15 laps remaining, Heim continued to lead by half a second over teammate Gray while Enfinger retained third place. Behind, Majeski and Friesen battled for fourth place while Riggs was mired back in sixth place. As Gray was unable to gain more ground on teammate Heim, the latter maintained a seven-tenths of a second lead with 10 laps remaining.
Then with nine laps remaining, Enfinger overtook Gray for the runner-up spot. Enfinger would proceed to gain slight ground on Heim over the next four laps, but Heim stabilized his late lead to half a second with five laps remaining.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim, who maintained his lead by above half a second over the previous four laps, remained in the lead by four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Enfinger. Enfinger would proceed to follow in Heim’s tracks through the first two turns and the backstretch. He then tried to mount a charge from the outside lane, but he could not narrow the gap further to Heim. With the lead still in his possession, Heim cycled back to the frontstretch victorious as he streaked across the finish line for a victory in Sin City.
With the victory, Heim became the first Truck Series competitor to notch multiple victories to the 2025 season and the 27th competitor overall to win a Truck event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Georgian also racked up his 13th career victory in the series and the second of this year for both TRICON Garage and the Toyota nameplate.
A month ago, Heim, who initially finished in the runner-up spot behind Parker Kligerman at Daytona International Speedway, was awarded the event’s official victory after Kligerman’s race-winning entry failing the post-race inspection process due to being too low. In comparison, Heim’s Las Vegas victory occurred after he took the checkered flag first on the track.
“First of all, our pit crew did such a good job getting us back out front,” Heim said on the frontstretch on FS1. “I made that mistake under Stage 1, where I sped on pit road, set up behind, but incredible truck. Incredible crew. Huge thank you to TRICON Garage, Toyota, Safelite for everything they do.”
“[I’m] A little bit speechless right now,” Heim, who described racing the event’s cold temperatures, added. “This wasn’t exactly what we wanted as far as the weather being cold and whatnot. I feel like we do a lot better when it’s hot and greasy and we’re sliding around. [I have] Kind of mixed emotions going into this race, but clearly, it paid off. [I] Just had to do everything I can there. I think all of us were completely wide open at the end, so [I] just did all I can looking at my mirror, driving out my mirror and [it] worked out. Just a huge thank you to everyone involved. [It’s] Just such a good feeling to be a part of driving these fast trucks.”
Grant Enfinger, who won at Las Vegas in 2018, settled in second place as he fell eight-tenths of a second shy of winning while Tanner Gray, who made a late charge to the front, finished in third place for his 10th top-five career result.
Ty Majeski came home in fourth place while Layne Riggs, who made a miraculous save in the closing laps, settled in fifth place. Stewart Friesen, Rajah Caruth, Chandler Smith, Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum completed the top-10 spots in the final running order.
Notably, Justin Haley, Kaden Honeycutt, Daniel Hemric, Ben Rhodes and rookie Giovanni Ruggerio finished in the top 15 while rookies Andres Perez de Lara, Connor Mosack, Toni Breidinger and Frankie Muniz finished 17th, 20th, 21st and 24th, respectively. In addition, pole-sitter Corey Day fell back to 27th place and was two laps down after he made a late pit stop for repairs due to on-track contact.
There were 21 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 34 laps. In addition, 23 of 31 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the third event of the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series season, Ty Majeski leads the regular-season standings by five points over Corey Heim, eight over both Grant Enfinger and Chandler Smith, 21 over Stewart Friesen and 33 over Ben Rhodes.
Race Results:
1. Corey Heim, 42 laps led
2. Grant Enfinger
3. Tanner Gray
4. Ty Majeski, 13 laps led, Stage 1 winner
5. Layne Riggs, five laps led
6. Stewart Friesen, 14 laps led
7. Rajah Caruth
8. Chandler Smith, one lap led
9. Matt Crafton
10. Tyler Ankrum, 39 laps led, Stage 2 winner
11. Justin Haley, one lap led
12. Kaden Honeycutt
13. Daniel Hemric
14. Ben Rhodes, six laps led
15. Giovanni Ruggiero
16. Matt Mills
17. Andres Perez de Lara
18. Bayley Currey
19. Dawson Sutton
20. Connor Mosack
21. Toni Breidinger
22. William Sawalich
23. Luke Fenhaus
24. Frankie Muniz, one lap down
25. Spencer Boyd, one lap down, one lap led
26. Jake Garcia, two laps down, one lap led
27. Corey Day, two laps down, two laps led
28. Josh Reaume, two laps down
29. Nathan Byrd, six laps down
30. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident, two laps led
31. Stephen Mallozzi – OUT, Drivetrain
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule is Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, for the Baptist Health 200. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, March 21, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
