Corey Heim matches 2023 win tally in 10th race of 2024
Corey Heim went to victory lane at North Wilkesboro Speedway, matching his 2023 win tally in race No. 10 of the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
Heim led on lap 119 of 250 and then took the lead for good from Jake Garcia on lap 186. No one could keep up with Heim, who earned his third win of the 2024 season.
Grant Enfinger and Layne Riggs finished second and third, each earning their best finish of the 2024 season. Riggs, Queen, Smith and Sanchez all came back from penalties to finish third through fifth and seventh.
STAGE ONE – SATURDAY
In the first 70-lap stage Saturday, Sammy Smith jumped the initial start and was dealt a pass-through penalty. The first 60 laps ran green, with Christian Eckes leading the way until a caution for rain, when NASCAR penalized Riggs for an uncontrolled tire.
Ty Majeski took over after staying out under caution and winning stage one.
STAGE ONE TOP-10: Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, Rajah Caruth, Taylor Gray, Corey Heim, Ty Dillon, Christian Eckes, Tanner Gray, Jack Wood, Tyler Ankrum
During the break, Smith received the free pass and got back on the lead lap right as the rain came.
STAGE TWO – SUNDAY
When the race resumed Sunday, Caruth challenged Majeski for the lead until spinning on lap 93.
Majeski lost the lead during a caution on lap 118 when Tyler Ankrum jumped from 18th to the lead, staying out with Jake Garcia (was 20th), Ben Rhodes (was 21st), Stewart Friesen (was 24th) and Jack Wood (was 19th).
Under caution, Queen was caught speeding on pit road and dropped to the rear. Laps later, Sanchez moved out of line before the start-finish line and fell a lap down after having to do a pass-through penalty.
He gained that lap back when Bret Holmes spun on lap 140. That ended stage two under caution.
STAGE TWO TOP-10: Ankrum, Garcia, Friesen, Wood, Riggs, Rhodes, Eckes, Heim, Daniel Dye, Grant Enfinger
FINAL STAGE
Ankrum lost the lead to Jake Garcia who led Riggs as he emerged in second. Another caution fell on lap 178 for Conner Jones spinning in turn four. As it did, Brenden Queen was in 10th.
Garcia still held on to second after losing the lead to Corey Heim on the subsequent restart. Meanwhile, Sanchez steadily worked his way closer to the top-10, finding himself in 12th when he bumped into Dean Thompson and spun him on lap 213.
All the storylines came together for the final 32 laps of the race with Garcia, Riggs and Eckes second through fourth with Queen, Ankrum and Smith sixth through eighth. While Riggs, Queen, Smith, Eckes, Sanchez and Ankrum finished third through eighth, Jake Garcia finished 21st. Over the radio post-race, Garcia discussed how he had a right-front tire going down.
TOP-10 FINISHERS: Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger, Layne Riggs, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, Sammy Smith, Christian Eckes, Nick Sanchez, Tyler Ankrum, Daniel Dye, Stewart Friesen
At this point last season, Heim had a win, three Top-5 finishes and eight Top-10 finishes with 236 laps led and an average finish of 9.1. This season, he has three wins, seven Top-5s, nine Top-10s with 271 laps led and an average finish of 5.7.
What Heim doesn’t have is the regular-season points lead. Yet.
Heim is four points behind Christian Eckes. No one is even with a race-worth of points of Heim, let alone Eckes.
PLAYOFF OUTLOOK
Ten drivers are within a race worth of points of the cutline.
The biggest winners were Grant Enfinger (+3 to eighth), Jake Garcia (+2 to 14th), Layne Riggs (+4 to 17th). The biggest loser by far was Matt Crafton, who lost three spots and now sits 11th in points.
Enfinger is +6 points to the cutline while Ben Rhodes is +4, Tanner Gray is +2. Crafton is -2 points to the cutline, Daniel Dye is -17, Stewart Friesen is -30, Jake Garcia is -46, Bayley Currey is -50, Chase Purdy is -56 and Layne Riggs is -61.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com