Corey Heim wins Truck Race at COTA

The Chevrolet streak came to an end Saturday afternoon at the Circuit of the Americas, when TRICON Garage’s Corey Heim wheeled his No. 11 Toyota to victory lane, leading 31 of 46 laps and earning the sixth win of his career. Heim has been off to a hot start, finishing no worse than sixth in all races so far in 2024.

Heim won the race over his teammate Taylor Gray, as Ty Majeski of Thorsport Racing finished in third. Connor Zilisch, who started from the pole and making his Truck Series debut, finished fourth, and Ross Chastain, who drove for Niece Motorsports, rounded out the top five. 

“Just prepared so hard for this race,” said Heim. “I came into this race last year and struggled really. Finished sixth with a penalty and just all over the place. To put together a solid race like this is just so special and really just shows you how good our trucks are back at the shop.”

“Just great consistency and that was the name of the game last year to make it as far as we did,” he said, smiling. “Didn’t have the result at the end of 2023 but I think this year we can make it back and prove we’re champions. Super excited for the rest of the year, we’re really just getting started and I think our best tracks are in front of us, so really can’t wait.”

In a race that featured 14 different lead changes among eight drivers, there was plenty of great action on the track despite Heim’s dominant performance. However, many eyes were also on 17-year-old Connor Zilisch, making his Craftsman Truck Series debut in the No. 7 for Spire Motorsports. Zilisch has already made a lot of noise, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Zilisch started from the pole but suffered from a flat tire after the first lap of the race, losing the lead to the eventual winner Heim. However, Zilisch dug deep and never gave up, as he climbed back to the top five late in the race. 

Zilisch was handed a pass-thru penalty after cutting the course, but thankfully for him, a caution came out that only caused the young phenom to lose two spots. After pitting for gas, Zilisch hung on to earn a top-five in his very first start. Trackhouse Racing signed him to a development contract over the offseason and as it stands, they might have a gem in Zilisch. He would then travel to Pensacola, Florida to the Five Flags Speedway, where he would finish fourth.

Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Dean Thompson, and Tanner Gray would finish out the top 10 in the XPEL 225.

While Heim did win stage two, Nick Sanchez, who won at Daytona, won stage one but was then hit with a penalty for cutting the course. In overtime, he also spun in turn one, causing him to finish 20th. 

The race was forced to overtime after a bizarre caution was brought out when the two rear wheels of Marco Andretti’s No. 04 Chevrolet ripped off from the truck, causing him to finish 31^st in his first truck start of the season. 

The Craftsman Truck Series heads next to Martinsville Speedway on April 5th. The race will be at 7:30 pm EST.