Corey Heim left no doubt at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night. The 22-year-old dominated the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200, leading 98 of 134 laps and cruising to a massive 6.2-second victory over Ross Chastain. With this performance, Heim notched his fourth win of the 2025 season and reached a milestone—15 career Truck Series victories—tying veteran Matt Crafton for 10th on the all-time list.
Heim’s performance was nothing short of clinical. He swept both stages, led the most laps, set the fastest lap of the night, and extended his championship lead to a staggering 100 points. And perhaps just as impressively, he made history with the largest margin of victory ever recorded in a Truck Series race at Charlotte.
A Dominant Performance From Start to Finish
Driving the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota, Heim wasted no time asserting his control over the race. After winning Stage 1, he repeated the feat in Stage 2 and continued to build his lead on every long green-flag run. Every pit stop was clean, and every restart was calculated. Heim and his team executed flawlessly.
“I felt like we’ve had the speed the last couple years here, but circumstances haven’t let us get it done,” Heim said after the race. “Obviously, it was such a good truck. I had to execute on my part. The pit crew did a great job. Just a really nice clean day. … It feels great.”
With his fourth win of the season, Heim has now won five of the last nine races on 1.5-mile intermediate tracks—clearly establishing himself as the king of the current configuration. But there’s a catch: there are no more 1.5-mile tracks on the schedule for the rest of the season, meaning Heim will need to maintain his form on short tracks, superspeedways, and road courses if he wants to clinch his first championship.
Chastain, Honeycutt, and the Rest of the Field Had No Answer
Ross Chastain, making a return to the Truck Series, put in a strong showing but ultimately finished “best in class” behind Heim. Driving the No. 44 for Niece Motorsports, Chastain crossed the line 6.229 seconds behind the leader and admitted there was no catching the No. 11.
“The 11 (Heim) is the best in the field right now, and none of us had anything for him,” Chastain said. “It was a heck of a race for second back there between us, but we’ve got to make it last longer.”
Behind Chastain, Kaden Honeycutt continued to impress with a third-place finish, followed by Layne Riggs and Kyle Busch to round out the top five. Grant Enfinger, Matt Mills, Daniel Hemric, Rajah Caruth, and Brandon Jones completed the top 10. It was a solid showing from the Niece Motorsports camp, with Chastain, Honeycutt, and Mills all finishing inside the top seven.
Despite the strong runs from several veterans and up-and-comers, nobody had the pace to even threaten Heim on long runs. His truck simply got stronger as the race wore on.
Major Incident Takes Out Chandler Smith and Others
While Heim dominated the front, several big names saw their races fall apart in a Lap 71 crash that took out championship contender Chandler Smith. Smith, who entered Charlotte second in points and fresh off a win at North Wilkesboro, was involved in a multi-truck incident that also collected polesitter Gio Ruggiero, defending champion Ty Majeski, and rookie Connor Mosack.
Smith would go on to finish 34th, becoming the first driver out of the race. It was a tough blow for the driver of the No. 34 who had been aiming to close the gap on Heim in the standings.
The race featured only three cautions, two of which were for stage breaks, making the Lap 71 wreck the only unscheduled yellow of the night.
Full Race Results and Championship Implications
Here are the top 10 finishers from Friday night’s event:
| No | Truck | Driver |
| 1 | 11 | Corey Heim |
| 2 | 44 | Ross Chastain (i) |
| 3 | 45 | Kaden Honeycutt |
| 4 | 34 | Layne Riggs |
| 5 | 7 | Kyle Busch (i) |
| 6 | 9 | Grant Enfinger |
| 7 | 42 | Matt Mills |
| 8 | 19 | Daniel Hemric |
| 9 | 71 | Rajah Caruth |
| 10 | 1 | Brandon Jones (i) |
| 11 | 13 | Jake Garcia |
| 12 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum |
| 13 | 52 | Stewart Friesen |
| 14 | 75 | Parker Kligerman |
| 15 | 7 | BJ McLeod |
| 16 | 77 | Andres Perez de Lara # |
| 17 | 99 | Ben Rhodes |
| 18 | 66 | Luke Fenhaus |
| 19 | 56 | Timmy Hill |
| 20 | 88 | Matt Crafton |
| 21 | 17 | Gio Ruggiero # |
| 22 | 2 | Stefan Parsons |
| 23 | 81 | Connor Mosack # |
| 24 | 76 | Spencer Boyd |
| 25 | 91 | Jack Wood |
| 26 | 15 | Tanner Gray |
| 27 | 33 | Frankie Muniz # |
| 28 | 22 | Mason Maggio (i) |
| 29 | 2 | Cody Dennison |
| 30 | 5 | Toni Breidinger # |
| 31 | 26 | Dawson Sutton # |
| 32 | 98 | Ty Majeski |
| 33 | 90 | Justin Carroll |
| 34 | 34 | Chandler Smith |
With the victory, Heim not only increases his career win total but also builds what may become an insurmountable lead in the championship. Post-race inspection passed without issue, confirming Heim as the official winner.
News in Brief: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 results
Corey Heim’s Charlotte performance wasn’t just a win—it was a statement. In a season where he has already been dominant, this was his cleanest and most commanding race yet. From leading the most laps to executing perfect pit stops and building the largest-ever Truck Series winning margin at Charlotte, Heim proved he is the driver to beat. As the series moves to Nashville for the Rackley Roofing 200 on May 30, all eyes will remain on Heim as he continues his march toward a potential first championship. The field may have opportunities ahead—but they’ll need to be nearly perfect to match what Heim is delivering every week.
ALSO READ: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Entry List: What to Expect at Charlotte Motor Speedway
