Corey Heim did what he’s done best all year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series by winning at Martinsville Speedway on Friday night, doing so for the 11th time this season in the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota. The race also decided the Championship Four drivers eligible to compete for the NCTS crown at Phoenix Raceway next weekend.
Those four drivers are Heim, reigning champion Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum and Kaden Honeycutt.
Heim Time Once Again
Heim had already punched his ticket to the Championship Four via his most recent win at the Charlotte Roval in early October. Despite that achievement, he and the No. 11 Team didn’t let up off the gas knowing they were good to go for Phoenix.
He started fourth and took the lead from Tricon teammate Brent Crews with 20 laps remaining for the victory. It was a NCTS season record for most wins and his 22nd overall. Heim has made the Championship Four the last three seasons.
“We’ve got a big race next week and a lot of momentum heading into Phoenix and keep our guys with their heads held high and you know what they are working on going to Phoenix,” Heim said. “I feel like it was a rocky race there getting behind on track position. We wanted to capitalize on our day and make the most of it.
“I really think we had the truck we had in the spring, but once we got out front it really showed that we had something to work with here. Just really grateful to everyone at TRICON Garage, Toyota, Safelite, Mobil 1, Celsius, and just everyone that’s gotten me to this point so far.
“It’s going to be tough, but I’m confident we can do it.”
Majeski Looking to Repeat
Ty Majeski and the No. 98 Ford started third and finished seventh. He raced for every point possible to solidify his championship.
“Obviously, I have mixed emotions,” Majeski said. “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, I was just kind of playing defense at the end. It was just good enough.”
Honeycutt Makes it the Hard Way
Kayden Honeycutt and the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota made it in with a great late race charge and valuable stage points. This will be his first bid for a championship, which he did racing for three different teams this season.
“It’s awesome, I could have easily been on the couch after July.” Honeycutt said. “It looks like I just won the super bowl, but I don’t come from a lot. I worked my ass off with my dad in my garage and worked all night on racecars to get to this point. It means a lot that I even had a chance.
“I hate that I didn’t execute that last restart very well to beat Corey, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m glad that he got the win and we get to go fight for a championship now next week. It’s pretty incredible.
“Thanks to Stewart (Friesen), Toyota and HFR for the opportunity to step in this seat for him and do a good job for them. I wanted to do it so damn bad for Stewart and this race team and this playoff run was for them more than it was myself. I’m so grateful and we get to go to Phoenix next week and get to fight for it. ”
Tyler Ankrum rounds out the four finalists with his ninth-place finish in the No. 18 Chevrolet.
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