Corey Heim has positioned himself and the No. 11 Tricon Garage team as leading contenders in the upcoming NASCAR Truck Series championship, following a record-shattering 11-win season. As the championship battle approaches, the Corey Heim NASCAR Truck Series campaign faces pressure and scrutiny, with fellow challengers and the playoff format itself drawing debate among drivers and teams.
Heim Dominates Season, but Faces Format Frustration
Corey Heim, working alongside crew chief Scott Zipadelli, achieved a dominant stretch with 11 victories, 18 top-five finishes, and 20 top tens, ending the regular season with a 5.2 average finish from 24 starts. After celebrating their latest victory, the group is determined to secure the championship, though they remain aware of the unpredictable nature of the playoff format that decides the season’s ultimate winner.
Despite their overwhelming success, Heim and his crew confront the reality that the championship might be determined over one race, not the season’s full body of work. As Heim articulated, his No. 11 truck enters the race with significant expectations, but under the current rules, other contenders—some winless this year—may still take the title should circumstances break their way.
“I think (Majeski) will be the one we have to beat for sure, but I mean, you can kind of suck all year and bring your best truck to Phoenix and you can win the whole championship,”
Heim, Driver
He acknowledged the strengths of Ty Majeski and the ThorSport No. 98, noting that strong runs late in the year often overshadow season-long consistency.
“It’s interesting the way it works but I am going to be looking out for him, plus the other two, because you never know what someone can bring to a one race take all.”
Heim, Driver
Heim expressed a sense of resignation about the playoff system—not from a lack of belief in his teammates, but due to the inherent unpredictability of a single-race decider. Within the team, some, including crew chief Scott Zipadelli, have voiced sharp criticism of the playoff format, reflecting a widespread sentiment across the garage that the structure can undervalue steady performance across a long campaign.
Drivers Reflect on Playoff System and Last Year’s Lessons
Heim noted that last year’s arrangement cost another contender, Christian Eckes, a potential championship despite his stellar season average, underlining the risks involved in a winner-take-all model.
“I try not to look at it with negativity, and if you look at last year, (Christian Eckes) would have won if not for the format,”
Heim, Driver
“We had an opportunity to go to Phoenix and he finished third out of everybody and he had no business finishing third in the full season points with one of the best season averages ever.”
Heim, Driver
This season, Heim finds himself in the same vulnerable position, where years of hard work can be undone in an instant.
“At the end of the day it’s what I signed up for. This what I have to deal with as a NASCAR driver but it just promotes and rewards mediocrity in a sense that no one wants to take risks unless you have playoff points and the guys that are just good at either not getting wrecked or can just finish well in these rounds and sneak into the playoffs.”
Heim, Driver
Even with 11 wins under his belt, Heim remains wary of what can happen in the championship’s final moments.
“Like we’ve won 11 races this year,”
Heim, Driver
Heim’s main frustration revolves around the idea that one bad moment—such as being caught in someone else’s crash—could erase a season of effort.
“That’s kind of my main gripe at the end of the day, and you saw it in (2023) we probably didn’t deserve to win the championship in the sense of wins but we had a really good consistent average finish and then we got wiped out.”
Heim, Driver
Heim’s allusion to Carson Hocevar’s crash with him while leading last year further contextualizes his skepticism about the system’s fairness.
“So, what does this prove? That’s my main gripe.”
Heim, Driver
Playoff Drama for Riggs and Honeycutt
This year’s playoff journey provided more evidence of the system’s volatility. Layne Riggs saw his playoff chances slip away after a missed shift on a restart, which resulted in a sixth-place finish in the opening stage of the elimination race. Missing out by a single point, Riggs lost a tiebreaker to Kaden Honeycutt, who scored a better finish in the current round.
As a result, two drivers advance to the finals without a win this season, while Riggs, despite three victories, is sidelined. The scenario was especially disheartening for Riggs, who had believed, even after stepping out of his truck, that he had won the tiebreaker.
“Battling back there at the end, we thought that we were the tiebreaker winner, and I got told that we were in, and I was still just kind of upset,”
Riggs
“But I’m hearing, ‘Gotta get a spot, gotta get one,’ I’m going to do what my team tells me to do to get into this championship. Roughing guys up, I don’t really want to rough up; they have done nothing to me in the past. I don’t like how it comes down to the end like this, and how people race, especially here at Martinsville.”
Riggs
Riggs’s disappointment highlighted the strain felt by drivers forced into questionable tactics by the playoff pressure.
“We thought we were the tiebreaker winner. I got told that we were in and I was still upset. I just don’t like how those races finish like that. You have to do what you have to do. That’s not my kind of mentality and I don’t like doing that. Either way, we’ve had a great year all the way around.”
Riggs
Honeycutt, whose own path to the championship was full of uncertainty, thanked his team and credited his determination to hold his ground on the fateful restart.
“All (spotter Chris) Lambert told me was to not lose a spot and fight like hell,”
Honeycutt, Driver
“I didn’t do the best job of executing the restart and Corey did an excellent job of executing. Just had to hold on and hoped that everything worked out. Thankfully it did, and now we get the chance to go have fun next week and try to mix it up.”
Honeycutt, Driver
Reflecting on his journey, Honeycutt described his surprise at advancing, given the winding path of his season, which began at Niece Motorsports but included a switch to Toyota’s Tricon Garage and an urgent call-up to substitute for Stewart Friesen after an injury.
“I was just a dirt track kid from Texas and I didn’t really have any business being in NASCAR,”
Honeycutt, Driver
“Thanks to all the nights of my dad out there in the shop at 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning working on dirt cars every night and to all the people that I’ve been able to race for my career and get to this point to have the opportunity to go to Phoenix now.”
Honeycutt, Driver
With a visible surge of emotion, Honeycutt acknowledged the unlikely nature of his championship campaign and voiced gratitude for the opportunity ahead.
“I should have very easily been on the couch in July after I made my decision on what to do. And I’m so grateful to be a part of Toyota and this amazing manufacturer. To carry on this championship now, we got a 50 percent chance of winning it at least. So I’m very much looking forward to next weekend. Regardless of how everything goes, I’m just extremely thankful.”
Honeycutt, Driver
Finalists Assess Their Chances at Phoenix
Ty Majeski, driving for ThorSport Racing, experienced a challenging night with handling issues and brake problems, yet relied on stage points, a quick pit stop, and solid qualifying to move on to the finale. Majeski struck a balance between disappointment and relief as he secured his spot.
“We come to a short track and we expect to be a little bit more competitive than that, but we qualified good, got good stage points and that was the difference tonight. I knew once we got back in traffic we were in pretty big trouble. I kind of knew from when we unloaded this thing today that it wasn’t quite right, but we persevered and got good stage points. The crew guys had a hell of a pit stop and kept our track position and I was just kind of playing defense at the end. It was just good enough.”
Majeski, Driver
Majeski remains optimistic about the finale at Phoenix, confident that lessons learned from the setbacks can help the team in the winner-take-all race.
Tyler Ankrum, a seven-year veteran in the Truck Series, is making his first-ever championship appearance and credits strategic, mistake-free racing for his qualification.
“To fire off the way we did the first six or seven races of the year and then to have that big slump in the middle of the summer and still get here, by just racing smarter than everyone else, that’s a huge tip of the cap to this team,”
Ankrum, Driver
“We did it quietly and safely and proud to be in the final four.”
Ankrum, Driver
Meanwhile, drivers Grant Enfinger and Daniel Hemric, both faced with must-win scenarios after setbacks at the Roval and Talladega, were unable to recover in time. Enfinger finished 12th after making a late pit stop to gamble on track position, while Hemric suffered mechanical damage and did not finish the race after a multi-car stack-up.
The Stakes and the Road Ahead
As the NASCAR Truck Series season concludes, the final race at Phoenix will test the resolve and preparation of Corey Heim and the rest of the championship contenders. Numerous drivers, including Heim, Honeycutt, Majeski, and Ankrum, acknowledge the tension and unpredictability the format brings. For Heim, who has led the way all year, the race presents a chance for coronation, but also holds the threat of disappointment should events not go in his favor. The debate over the championship format is unlikely to subside, but for now, the focus shifts to Phoenix, where a single night will shape the story—and potentially the legacy—of the 2024 Corey Heim NASCAR Truck Series campaign.
