Corey Heim displayed overwhelming determination and skill at Texas Motor Speedway, snatching his third NASCAR Truck Series victory of the season in a relentless, caution-filled race that spilled into double overtime on Saturday night. Driving the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota, Heim held off his fiercest challengers in a high-pressure, dramatic finish, proving that recent disappointments only fueled his ambition to seize victory. With the win, Heim shook off his recent hardship and delivered a statement performance late into the night in Texas.
After a string of gut-punch losses, Corey Heim faced the Texas showdown with unmistakable resolve. The race quickly turned chaotic as late incidents forced multiple restarts, pushing the drivers and their machines to the limit. Heim maintained his composure through it all, never once surrendering to the increasingly tense field that threatened to snatch away his hard-earned dominance. As the final laps unfolded, the competition intensified. Drivers jostled three-wide into Turn 1 in the heart-pounding second overtime, but Heim’s steady hands kept his truck clear of danger and in control of the lead.
I wasn’t letting them take that one away from me. I’ve given up too many this year so far. Just so proud of these TRICON guys…just overwhelmed. So many restarts there at the end. Guys were trying to split me three wide. I wasn’t letting them take that one from me. I can’t even speak — I’m so overwhelmed. They tried to take me three wide into (Turn) 1 and I just drove until I couldn’t anymore. Just catching my breath, as you can tell,
Corey Heim said, fighting back emotion just moments after climbing from his truck with his 14th career Truck Series win sealed.
The competition came fast and relentless. Daniel Hemric staged an impressive run, ultimately crossing the line in second place after shadowing Heim during the closing laps. Rajah Caruth made a bold late charge to finish third, while Tyler Ankrum and Tanner Grag rounded out the top five, each wrestlered with the chaotic events but fell short of supplanting Heim atop the leaderboard. Veterans Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton joined Bayley Currey, Dawson Sutton, and Ty Majeski in the remainder of the top ten, but none could match Corey Heim’s ferocity under pressure.
The race’s rhythm was repeatedly disrupted by yellow flags and hard crashes, ratcheting up the tension in each stage. The first opportunity for a sustained run only materialized in the final stage as Heim began to stretch his lead over Carson Hocevar. Playing the strategy game, Hocevar pitted earlier during green-flag stops, attempting to undercut Heim, but mechanical misfortune struck instead— a persistent battery issue resurfaced, sending Hocevar back to pit road and destroying any hope he had for a win. Exiting his stall, he narrowly avoided disaster after slamming on the brakes to avoid Toni Breidinger. While Hocevar’s truck survived, his chance at victory was lost, a bitter twist in an already trying night.
Corey Heim, seemingly unchallenged, watched his lead swell to nearly sixteen seconds and appeared ready to cruise to the checkered flag. That expectation evaporated abruptly as Frankie Muniz, the actor aiming to make a name in racing, crashed hard into the wall, his night dissolving in anger and frustration, with radio outbursts punctuating his misery as he stomped away from his crippled truck. The caution reset the field, giving new hope to competitors eager to dethrone Heim and plunging the final laps into mayhem.
With the pressure mounting, Stewart Friesen attempted to muscle past Grant Enfinger for third, but got loose and triggered a melee that swept up Enfinger and Chandler Smith. The crash forced race officials to halt proceedings with a red flag as they repaired the battered SAFER Barrier in Turn 4. Racing resumed with Corey Heim again vaulting to the lead on the restart, but just as the field regrouped, Jake Garcia and Connor Mosack crashed, sending yet another jolt of anxiety through the pit boxes.
Those relentless incidents set the stage for NASCAR’s version of overtime, a chaotic extension that tested every ounce of discipline, reflex, and endurance in the field. As engines heated and nerves frayed, Matt Mills clipped the grass, hurling debris across the track and drawing another caution, but not before Heim was forced into a heart-stopping, three-wide tangle for the lead. Keeping his cool, Corey Heim held his ground, his truck emerging a nose ahead as the caution came out. That final restart presented Heim with the ultimate challenge, as competitors swarmed from every angle, but he refused to yield, pressing on to claim an emotional and hard-fought victory beneath the Texas night sky.
This win for Corey Heim was not just about adding another checkered flag to his collection or padding his stats—it was about resiliency, about refusing to let the weight of missed opportunities define his season. As Heim stood in victory lane, still catching his breath, the underlying message was clear: setbacks, no matter how brutal, only sharpened his competitive edge. His performance in Texas not only cements his reputation as one of the series’ fiercest competitors, but also tightens the championship battle as the season heads into its crucial summer stretch. Competitors will undoubtedly take notice of Heim’s ability to absorb disappointment and respond with ferocity, setting the stage for even more high-stakes battles as the season progresses. The road ahead promises further unpredictability, but after Texas, Corey Heim stands as the driver to beat, his resolve unbroken and his ambitions only heightened by adversity.
