In just his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start, Corey Heim was plagued by issues that kept him mired mid-pack and relegated him to an 18th-place finish at Watkins Glen International. Heim, who won Friday’s ARCA race at the road course, ran off track on lap 1 trying to avoid several spinning trucks and ended up with grass on the grill of his JBL Tundra.
The grass would cause overheating issues that forced him to make two unscheduled pit stops, one of which the No. 51 team was penalized for removing equipment from their pit area. Just as Heim was beginning to make his way forward in the Final Stage, lightning struck at the track and led to the race being called official 11 laps before the scheduled distance.
The No. 51 team ended the regular season fifth in the owner’s championship standings, 158 points behind the No. 4 team. They enter the post season seventh on the playoff grid, four points above the cutoff for advancing the Round of 8.
Stage One Recap:
- Heim began the race in the 16th position based on NASCAR performance matrix.
- As the field enter Turn 1 on the first lap, several trucks made contact and Heim went through the grass to avoid joining the melee.
- With grass on the grill, the JBL Tundra began to overheat and crew chief Mardy Lindley was forced to summon his driver to pit road.
- After rejoining the field, Heim would end Stage One in the 27th position.
Stage Two Recap:
- With several trucks hitting pit road, Heim moved up to the 20th position when Stage Two went green.
- During the second stanza, Heim communicated that his No. 51 Toyota needed a little more grip” but maneuvered his way into the top 10 for several laps and would end the stage 14th.
Final Stage Recap:
- With a handful of trucks pitting, Heim took the green flag for the Final Stage in the 11th position. A few laps into the stanza, he communicated that the JBL Tundra was overheating again and once again was forced to pit road.
- As he was leaving his pit stall, the fuel can got stuck in the fuel hole and was carried outside the No. 51 team’s pit area. Per NASCAR rules, he had to serve a pass-thru penalty the next lap.
- When all was said and done, Heim fell in line in the 28th position.
- He had maneuvered his way into the top 20, posting solid lap times, when lightning struck near the track. NASCAR eventually called the race complete with 61 of the 72 scheduled laps complete.
Corey Heim, driver of the No. 51 JBL Tundra for KBM
What issues kept you from running up front today?
“It was definitely a roller coaster day, we had to avoid wrecks from Lap 1 to the very end – just a lot of carnage. We kept it clean, we just couldn’t catch a break. We had track position at one point and on the next restart we overheated and had to pit three times, two for overheating and one for a pass-through penalty. We never caught a break and never got the track position we needed and have to get a little bit better next time.”
United Rentals 176 Recap:
- Austin Hill picked up his second consecutive Camping World Truck Series victory. Nemechek finished in the runner-up position, while Sheldon Creed, Todd Gilliland, and Parker Kligerman rounded out the top-five finishers.
- There were five cautions for 10 laps. There were seven lead changes among six drivers.
How Heim’s KBM Teammates Fared:
- John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished second.
- Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 39th.
Camping World Trucks Owner’s Championship Standings:
The No. 51 team ended the regular season fifth in the owner’s championship standings, 158 points behind the No. 4 team. They enter the post season seventh on the playoff grid, four points above the cutoff for advancing the Round of 8.
Next Race: Derek Griffith will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut behind the wheel of the No. 51 JBL/Hudson Speedway Tundra when the series resumes action on Friday, August 20 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Live coverage will be on FS1, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM at 9 p.m. ET.
