Corey Heim took control of the race Saturday night and never looked back, dominating the Heart of America 200’s final stage. Heim would go on to earn his second Craftsman Truck Series win of the season.
Heim took the lead from Nick Sanchez on Lap 70 of 134 and was able to stay out the rest of the way. Zane Smith finished runner up in the race, as he was chasing Heim down, but was still just a second back from the lead when the checkered flag flew.
“I can’t say enough about these guys at Tricon Garage, man,” said Heim, who has finished in the top 10 in all eight Truck Series races this season. “Top to bottom, we executed so well today with the pit crew, everyone back at the shop…
“What a truck! It was free for most of the race, so I can’t say it was easy. Even with the balance I had, the truck had so much potential to get better. I’m kind of out of breath now-it was a handful those last 30 laps.”
Smith, a 2024 Cup Series Rookie, was still disappointed in the finish, as he had a slow pit stop on pit road during a caution that caused him to lose several positions.
On lap 104, Smith was back by 3.743 seconds and was able to make up for most of it, as previously mentioned, he was one second off from Corey Heim.
“You can’t lose spots on pit road,” said Smith, who was making his fourth start of the season for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. “That one got away there.”
Christian Eckes finished third, while Kaden Honeycutt scored his career-best finish in fourth. Brett Moffitt finished fifth in his first start of the season, while Nick Sanchez, Tanner Gray, Dean Thompson, Daniel Dye, and Matt Crafton rounded out the top ten. Corey Heim leads the standings by seven points over Eckes.
The Truck Series heads next to the Lady in Black, Darlington Raceway, on May 10th at 7:30 pm EST.
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