Heim time for Toyota in NASCAR Truck qualifying at Watkins Glen
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — A Toyota two-step topped the Truck lineup taking to the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen track Friday.
Corey Heim and Christopher Bell will start on the front row for Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Watkins Glen. The Heim time to beat was a lap of 70.953 seconds – and Bell could only muster a 71.145-second lap.
Bell is filling in for Stewart Friesen in his No. 52 Toyota this weekend. Kaden Honeycutt will take over the truck the following weekend at Richmond Raceway.
In the second row are Spire Motorsports teammates Sammy Smith and Andres Perez de Lara. Perez is one of five starters in the top 12 who are winless and not yet in the playoffs. The others – Gio Ruggiero, Ben Rhodes, Connor Mosack and Tanner Gray – start fifth, ninth, 10th and 12th, respectively.
Points don’t matter for Bell, Smith and five other non-series regulars racing Friday. Ross Chastain is the best of the rest, starting seventh.
Kyle Busch will start 11th for his fifth and final start of the season. So far, he has two top-five finishes and three top-10 finishes, including a win at Atlanta in February.
Connor Zilisch will start 14th, William Sawalich will start 16th and Chris Buescher will start 21st.
Zilisch is racing the No. 45 Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports. Niece released Kaden Honeycutt from the truck this week since he is moving to a new team and manufacturer in 2026.
Honeycutt is racing for Young’s Motorsports this weekend to keep his playoff hopes alive. He will start 35th.
Parker Kligerman will start 18th for Henderson Motorsports in their No. 75 truck. This is the first race for Henderson Motorsports since the passing of team owner Charlie Henderson, reported June 14. Henderson was 82 years old.
Brent Crews will start 19th in the first start for his own team. Crews was third-quickest in practice, behind Zilisch and Heim.
Here are the practice results, qualifying results and more info for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Watkins Glen:
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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