HEIM OVERCOMES LAP 1 INCIDENT, WINS RECORD-SETTING 10th TRUCK WIN THIS SEASON

Heim clinches third straight Championship 4 berth, while TRICON scores first 1-2-3 finish

CONCORD, N.C. (October 3, 2025) – Corey Heim overcame a lap one incident and drove through the field before taking the lead on the final restart to claim victory. The Georgia-native now holds the record with his 10th victory this season, while this was his 21st victory of his career. In the last eight races, Heim has won six and he has now clinched his berth in the Championship 4 at Phoenix at the end of the month. It is the third straight year that Heim will be a Championship 4 participant.

Heim led his TRICON teammates and fellow Toyota Development Drivers Brent Crews, who led a race-high 55 laps, and Gio Ruggiero to the finish – delivering the first 1-2-3 for TRICON in their history.

Kaden Honeycutt also had stellar day. The Texas-native won both stages for the first time in his career and was in position for a top-five finish before he got spun on the final lap. He rallied to finish 14th. He closed the gap in the point standings and sits just four points from the cutline, and five points from second, heading to Talladega Superspeedway.

Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS)
Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL
Race 22 of 25 – 152.76 Miles, 67 Laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, COREY HEIM
2nd, BRENT CREWS
3rd, GIO RUGGIERO
4th, Rajah Caruth*
5th, Connor Zilisch*
14th, KADEN HONEYCUTT
16th, TIMMY HILL
27th, WESLEY SLIMP
30th, TONI BREIDINGER
31st, TANNER GRAY
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

COREY HEIM, No. 11 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 1st

After lap one, did you think you had a shot to get here today?
“No. We had a pretty big incident there. Once the right front was buried in the fence, I thought we were pretty much done. 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. It 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 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. Super thankful for TRICON, Toyota, Safelite and Mobil 1 for all their efforts. Kind of speechless on what this means to me – it hasn’t sunk in yet, but couldn’t do it without TRICON, Toyota, Safelite and Mobil 1.”

BRENT CREWS, No. 1 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 2nd

Led 55 laps today. What are the positives you can take away from the performance?

“I can take a lot away from today. Just want to thank the good Lord above for keeping me safe. This has been a really fun week working with Trevor (Bayne, competition mentor) and Blake (Koch, competition mentor) 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 there. Congrats to the whole 11 (Corey Heim) 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.”

KADEN HONEYCUTT, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing

Finishing Position: 14th

Not the finish you wanted today, but still a strong run with those stage wins.

“It definitely sucks not having that finish. I felt like my guys did an amazing job and gave me an amazing truck today. Thank you to Halmar-Friesen Racing, Halmar, Mohawk Northeast, Toyota – they gave me the best preparation that I’ve ever had going to a road course. It is all thanks to them. Everyone at TPC (Toyota Performance Center) for keeping me locked in. It is so hard to hold my tongue about this – I don’t understand why stuff like this happens. All year – we’ve ran good and just had no results. It is what it is, but thankfully we are only four under, so it could be a whole lot worse. Thanks to my guys – they gave me an amazing truck. Thanks to everyone at Toyota, and we will move on to Talladega.”

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 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

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

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