Corey Heim made his first Camping World Truck Series start at Talladega Superspeedway in Saturday’s 250-mile event. After qualifying in 12th, the 20-year-old driver tallied six stage points for the No. 51 team after finishing eighth in each of the first two stages.
Heim had made his way into the top-10 and was scored in seventh as they lined up for NASCAR overtime at the 2.66-mile track. After restarting on the inside of the fourth row, Heim surged on the outside lane and was about to make a move for the lead as the field entered the tri-oval on the final lap but was turned from behind and into the outside wall before his JBL Tundra came to a rest just short of the finish line. He was unable to continue and was scored the first car one lap down in 26th.
Stage One Recap:
- Heim lined up Saturday’s 94 lap event at Talladega in 12th after posting a lap time of 54.205 second at 176.663 mph in Friday’s qualifying session.
- The 20-year-old driver quickly made his way into the top-10 as the outside lane began to surge forward on the third lap.
- Heim maintained his spot inside of the top-10 as he was running in seventh with five to go in the opening stage.
- The first caution of the day came out on lap 20, ending the opening stanza under caution with Heim scored in eighth, picking up three stage points for the No. 51 team.
Stage Two Recap:
- The No. 51 team elected for a fuel only stop at the stage break and gained three spots on pit road, restarting the second stanza in fifth.
- Heim got shuffled back on the ensuing restart and settled his JBL Tundra into the eighth position.
- When the green-and-white checkered flag came out on lap 40 to end Stage Two, Heim earned the No. 51 team an additional three stage points by crossing the stripe in eighth.
Final Stage Recap:
- Crew chief Mardly Lindley ordered up a four tire and fuel stop at the stage break and sent his driver back out on track in 22nd for the Final Stage.
- The Georgia-native continued to run just outside of the top-20 as green flag pit stops began. Just as Heim pulled his No. 51 Tundra into the pit box, the caution was thrown for a loose tire on the track.
- The field went back green, and Heim made his way from 16th to seventh before the eighth caution of the race came out on lap 91, setting up a NASCAR overtime attempt.
- The 20-year-old driver lined up for overtime on the inside of the fourth row for overtime before making a move to the outside on the restart and finding himself on the outside of the second row as the field began to come through the tri-oval for the final time.
- Just as Heim began to peak outside to make a move on the No. 99 of Ben Rhodes for the lead, he was hit from behind, sending JBL Tundra into the outside wall and coming to a stop just before the finish line where he would be scored in 26th.
Talladega 250 Race Recap:
- Matt DiBenedetto earned his first career Camping World Truck Series victory. Ben Rhodes, Bret Holmes, Ryan Preece, and Chistian Eckes rounded out the top-five finishers.
- There were nine cautions for 36 laps and 25 lead changes among 11 drivers.
How Heim’s KBM Teammates Fared:
- Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 14th.
- John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 26th.
Camping World Trucks Owner’s Championship Standings:
The No. 51 team finds themselves in a must-win situation at Homestead-Miami Speedway as they currently sit 56 points below the cutoff line to advance to the Championship 4 in the Owner’s Playoffs.
Next Race:
Corey Heim and the No. 51 Crescent Tools team head to Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 22nd for the cutoff race in the Round of 8 of the Owner’s Playoffs. Live coverage of the Baptist Health 200 will be on FS1, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM at 12pm ET.
