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Heim runs away with Truck Series debut at Lime Rock

Corey Heim’s victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ debut at Lime Rock Park wasn’t just a case of domination, it was an eyelash away from perfection.

Heim led 99 of 100 laps at the 1.478-mile road course in bucolic Lakeville, Connecticut, to win the LiUNA! 150 – his fifth victory of the season and the 16th of his career.

The only lap Heim failed to lead came on a restart with five laps left, after Matt Mills ran off course and stalled near Turn 1 on lap 90. Layne Riggs beat Heim to the start/finish line on lap 96 but drove hard into the first corner and stacked up the field behind him, scrambling positions two through five.

Aside from the one lap he didn’t lead, Heim’s performance was the model of consistent excellence. The driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota posted the fastest lap of the race on his second circuit (54.941s), swept both stages, and posted dramatic margins over his closest pursuers in each of the first two segments.

Heim is the first driver in Truck Series history to win three-straight road-course races, having triumphed at Mid-Ohio in 2023 and Circuit of The Americas last year.

“Yeah, that was nothing short of incredible,” Heim acknowledged. “These road courses – I really look forward to them, pre-event and whatnot, and I really prepare for them, so to see all that pay off with (sponsor) Safelite, TRICON, Toyota, it’s super special.

“Obviously, the truck was so good today. I can’t complain one bit about that. A flawless day and we will take that and move forward and try and collect some wins that we should have had this year.”

Reigning series champion Ty Majeski was the beneficiary of Riggs’ aggressive charge into Turn 1 on the final restart. Majeski inherited the runner-up position and crossed the finish line 1.381s behind Heim.

“Honestly, we struggled with the truck a little bit to fire off,” Majeski said. “We kept getting it better progressively each and every run. Got it close at the end, had a shot at Corey and probably got a little over-zealous in Turn 4, hit the curb and kind of ruined my shot to make him a least a little nervous and try to force him into a mistake.

“From there, he just got too much breathing room and was kind of able to do his thing. Overall, really good day. This is the point when I want to turn our season around – going to IRP (Lucas Oil Indianapolis raceway Park), Watkins Glen and Richmond next. Three really good tracks for us, so I’m excited for this Playoff stretch.”

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Giovanni Ruggiero ran third, followed by Ben Rhodes and Australian Cam Waters, as ThorSport Racing put three drivers in the top five (Majeski, Rhodes and Waters).

Riggs fell to 12th during the Turn 1 melee and finished 13th. Road course ace Jordan Taylor, who finished third in the first two stages, dropped to 20th at the finish.

Heim started from the pole and led all 35 laps in Stage 1, building an advantage of 7.065s over second-place Riggs at the first green/checkered flag. Third-place Taylor, a star in the sportscar ranks, was 14.051s in arrears at the first stage break.

After lap 37, the race trucks came to pit road for a controlled stop under red-flag conditions. The restart on lap 40 brought no changes at the front of the field. Heim cleared Riggs through the first two corners and quickly expanded his advantage over the second-place truck.

The second stage mirrored the first. Heim beat Riggs to the finish line by 7.281s, with Taylor in third trailing by 14.286s. The two stage wins were the 13th and 14th for Heim this season.

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