Corey Heim finally bagged the evasive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship on Friday, October 31, after a close finale at Phoenix Raceway. But unlike many of his commanding performances throughout the season — a campaign defined by 12 wins and dominance — the final race was anything but a Sunday drive.
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It was a redemption two years in the making. There was every chance of the evening ending differently, but Heim, who let his instincts do most of the work, ultimately prevailed.
“I was more torn because I thought, I was 10th, and I thought five guys were going to choose the bottom. Typically you would fill both lanes. I thought I can be 10th on the outside, or 11th on the inside. I’m pretty sure only four guys took the bottom. That’s a layup. I’m going to go bottom… By the time that we got to the start/finish line, I knew I had enough of a run to go to the bottom,” Heim said about his seven-wide charge.
“I figured we’d be three or four wide. Not seven wide. I based it off of the #9 truck in front of me, went lower and lower until he couldn’t anymore, and I could with my tires,” he added.
Starting from the sixth, Heim’s night quickly took a turn. The race opened with chaos as Dawson Sutton’s solo spin triggered an early caution on Lap 1. Kaden Honeycutt was then penalized for pulling out of line before crossing the line, sending him and Jack Wood to the rear of the field. Heim capitalized on the confusion, taking control early and arranging the pace by sweeping both opening stages, looking every bit the favorite to seal his title.
However, towards the end, with four laps remaining, everything unraveled. Connor Mosack’s crash brought out a late caution, while Heim suddenly found himself under siege from championship rivals Ty Majeski and Honeycutt. Layne Riggs, who had charged from the back, threatened to steal the spotlight too. Mosack’s incident, stemming from a tire rub after contact, led NASCAR to summon his spotter and crew chief post-race.
With just a handful of laps left, the leaders dove to pit road on Lap 150. Heim took four fresh tires for his No. 11 Toyota, while Majeski and Honeycutt gambled on two. The decision nearly cost him everything. A sluggish stop, his third of the night, trapped Heim five spots back on pit road and two more behind drivers who stayed out. When the green waved for overtime, the title favorite sat mired in 10th, boxed in on the inside lane.
But Heim wasn’t about to let his season slip away that easily and was ready to put on a tough fight. On fresh rubber, he buried the throttle, darting low through the dogleg as the field fanned out seven-wide into Turn 1. Eventually, he moved his way up the inside, slicing past Grant Enfinger to emerge in second by Turn 2, right on Majeski’s bumper.
2025 Craftsman Truck Series champion Corey Heim interview transcript https://t.co/bgli1zXl2f
— Jayski (@jayski) November 1, 2025
Heim, who finished first in the end, further stated that he actually didn’t think about it very much at all. He simply went off muscle memory and his instincts at that point. But he was “definitely glad it worked out. I was on the inside wall through one and two. I didn’t think it was going to end well. Sure enough, the four tires worked.”
Majeski crossed the line second, Honeycutt rebounded to third after an early penalty, and Tyler Ankrum came home 14th, wrapping up the season fourth in the standings.
