Corey Heim may have stolen the spotlight with his 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. Still, the night at Phoenix Raceway also told the stories of those who came close: Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum, and Kaden Honeycutt. Each had their shot, their heartbreak, and their own story to tell after the checkered flag fell.
Heim’s season-ending win came chaotically after a tense double-overtime finish. Starting the final restart from 10th, he pulled off a daring seven-wide dive through the Phoenix dogleg and eventually powered past Majeski to claim both the race and his record 12th victory of the year. While the crowd celebrated Heim’s triumph, his fellow competitors were left reflecting on what could have been.
Ty Majeski Reflects on the One That Got Away
For Ty Majeski, finishing second was a mix of pride and frustration. The Wisconsin driver had battled through a rough midseason stretch before his team found consistency again.
“Really proud of the whole season this group put together,” Majeski said. “We had a pretty rough stretch in April, May, and June. We had a pretty strong meeting with ourselves, looked in the mirror and said, ‘Hey, we’re champions, we can turn this thing around.’ We did. We put on a streak of 12 races in a row in the top 10, nine of them top fives.”
Still, that final restart changed everything. “I mean that restart goes a little bit differently, and I get out, we win the race,” he said. “The yellow light came on, maybe a couple of truck lengths away from being two-time champions. Corey got up there just a little bit too good. You’re kind of a sitting duck on two tires. That was our best shot at being champions tonight.”
Tyler Ankrum Finds Lessons in Frustration
Tyler Ankrum, who finished eighth, showed flashes of brilliance in the final stages. His truck improved as the race went on, but traffic and timing got in the way.
“Even tonight we worked really, really hard,” he said. “Finally got it right there in the third stage. Felt like it could have driven into the top five, then we end up just getting squeezed three-wide there on that second-to-last restart. That was super frustrating. We definitely had a lot of speed. I think the only opportunity I had was for him and Corey in ’98 to get together, and I might’ve snuck on by.”
It wasn’t the finish Ankrum hoped for, but it proved his team had made strides. His eighth-place run capped off a season of steady growth and hinted at bigger things ahead.
Kaden Honeycutt’s Career-Best Finish
Kaden Honeycutt’s third-place run was a career highlight, and it locked him into the Championship 4 after a tight tiebreaker over Layne Riggs. His second-place finish at Martinsville proved the difference, and Phoenix became the cherry on top.
“That means a lot for sure,” Honeycutt said. “Stewart is one of the best that’s ever done it in dirt and asphalt. Stewart Friesen, this entire HFR team, allowing me to finish the year out for them, I don’t know how I can repay them.”
Heim’s team credited his poise and preparation for their dominance. “Probably the biggest thing is his confidence in himself, and then his confidence that we’re going to bring a good truck to the track,” said a team member. “If it’s not good, we’re going to work on it and make it better.”
While Corey Heim walks away as the 2025 NASCAR Truck Series champion, Majeski, Ankrum, and Honeycutt leave Phoenix with valuable experience and a hunger to return even stronger.
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