The clock didn’t just strike Heim Time Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway—it roared like a freight train through Concord, and it was about time.
After three straight races of leading the most laps only to leave empty-handed, Corey Heim didn’t just finish the job—he dropped the hammer. Heim swept both stages, reclaimed the lead with 17 laps to go after green-flag pit stops, and crossed the line over six seconds ahead of the field. That’s not just a win—that’s a statement. And it’s the largest margin of victory in Truck Series history at Charlotte.
“It was just nice to be far enough away where someone can’t clean me out constantly,” Heim said with a grin. “This thing was obviously really good. I felt like we’ve had the speed the last couple of years here and just circumstance we haven’t been able to get it done.”
Translation: he’s had the fast truck, just not the good luck—until now.
And while Heim was off writing his own chapter at the front, there was still a race happening behind him. The usual troublemakers were there—Ross Chastain being his elbows-out self, Kyle Busch doing Kyle Busch things, and Chandler Smith trying to play spoiler again. Kaden Honeycutt even pulled a no-tire stop to grab the lead for a moment, but that gamble earned him second, which honestly felt like a win for anyone not named Heim.
Chastain battled Heim for a bit but faded to third. Chandler Smith, who snatched the win from Heim at North Wilkesboro a week ago, found the wall on lap 72 and collected Ty Majeski, polesitter Giovanni Ruggiero, BJ McLeod, and Connor Mosack in the wreck. Smith and Majeski were the only ones done for the night, but it might’ve been Heim’s favorite crash of the season.
Layne Riggs, the other guy who derailed Heim at Wilkesboro, gave it a go again but ended up fourth.
“Best in class,” Chastain said. “The 11 (Heim) is the best in the field right now, and none of us had anything for him. The 7 (Kyle Busch), the 38 (Smith), the 34 (Layne Riggs)—it was a heck of a race (for second) back there between us, but we’ve got to make it last longer.”
Even Kyle Busch, the all-time winningest driver in the series, could only manage fifth.
Grant Enfinger, Matt Mills, Daniel Hemric, and Brandon Jones rounded out the top 10.
It’s Heim’s fourth win of the season—he kicked it off in Daytona, then added Las Vegas and Texas, both mile-and-a-halfs. He’s now led over 700 laps. Next closest? Chandler Smith with just over 100. That’s not close. That’s a different zip code.
The only relief for the rest of the field? Charlotte was the last mile-and-a-half track on the calendar.
The Truck Series is back next Friday night in Nashville for the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RACE RESULTS
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.