Corey Heim leads 99 of 100 laps in NASCAR Truck win at Lime Rock Park
LAKEVILLE, Conn. — In the first NASCAR national series race at Lime Rock Park, Corey Heim led all but one lap and won in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Heim won both stages and took home his fifth NCTS win. The only time someone passed him was when Layne Riggs had a strong restart with six laps to go. Heim passed Riggs back after he overshot the corner, leaving Riggs in 13th at the finish and Heim in victory lane.
The final restart shoved Kaden Honeycutt back to 12th, Riggs to 13th, Thomas Annunziata to 15th, Connor Mosack to 16th, Andres Perez to 17th, Jordan Taylor to 20th and Rajah Caruth to 21st at the finish. All of them ran much better throughout the race than where they finished.
Saturday marked the NASCAR national series race at Lime Rock Park in its 68-year history. The first two stages ran without any cautions for cause — just stage breaks.
MORE: The history of NASCAR racing in Connecticut
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 35): Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Jordan Taylor, Brent Crews, Connor Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Rajah Caruth, Ty Majeski, Thomas Annunziata.
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 70): Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Jordan Taylor, Connor Mosack, Chandler Smith, Kaden Honeycutt, Ty Majeski, Thomas Annunziata, Rajah Caruth, Grant Enfinger.
The final restart with six laps to go came after Matt Mills stopped on track with an issue exiting turn one.
The top-10 at the time was Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Connor Mosack, Ty Majeski, Jordan Taylor, Chandler Smith, Kaden Honeycutt, Rajah Caruth, Thomas Annunziata, Brent Crews.
Here is how they finished: Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Gio Ruggiero, Ben Rhodes, Cam Waters, Chandler Smith, Josh Bilicki, Brent Crews, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Ankrum.
Three races remain in the regular season with seven winners so far this season. That means Corey Heim (five wins), Chandler Smith (two), Layne Riggs, Tyler Ankrum, Daniel Hemric, Stewart Friesen and Rajah Caruth (one apiece) are all locked in. Behind them, these drivers are still in mathematical contention to make the playoffs:
- Kaden Honeycutt +66
- Grant Enfinger +63
- Ty Majeski +37
- Jake Garcia -37
- Gio Ruggiero -65
- Ben Rhodes -68
- Tanner Gray -101
The next race for the Truckers is July 25 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. The race kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
Here is the live updates archive from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Lime Rock Park.
STAGE THREE
Corey Heim stays clean while competitors Layne Riggs, Jordan Taylor and Rajah Caruth had trouble. Ty Majeski, Gio Ruggiero, Ben Rhodes and Cam Waters jump to second through fifth. Josh Bilicki and Brent Crews are seventh and eighth, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Ankrum are ninth and 10th.
LAP 91: Matt Mills stopped on track exiting turn one and brought out the first natural caution of the race. The top-10 is Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Connor Mosack, Ty Majeski, Jordan Taylor, Chandler Smith, Kaden Honeycutt, Rajah Caruth, Thomas Annunziata, Brent Crews.
LAP 88: Dawson Sutton is showing smoke and is off the pace some. The race stays green. There hasn’t been a caution for natural cause — yet.
Corey Heim is on his way to doing something that hasn’t been done in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since 1997, according to statistician Seth Eggert.
TOP-10 (LAP 82): Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Connor Mosack, Ty Majeski, Jordan Taylor, Chandler Smith, Thomas Annunziata, Brent Crews.
Grant Enfinger runs 11th, dogging Crews. Cam Waters is 12th. Josh Bilicki is having a decent day in 17th. Tanner Gray has recovered from a rough first stage to run 20th.
LAP 81: Matt Mills went wide and fell off the pace. He is now 25th.
LAP 77: Matt Crafton had an awful restart that saw him get into the grass and lose multiple positions. Corey Heim held on to the lead while Layne Riggs retained second. Connor Mosack is up to third and Ty Majeski is up to fourth.
Daniel Hemric went wide on lap 79 and fell back to 19th.
STAGE TWO
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 70): Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Jordan Taylor, Connor Mosack, Chandler Smith, Kaden Honeycutt, Ty Majeski, Thomas Annunziata, Rajah Caruth, Grant Enfinger. Heim has won 14 stages, including five straight stage two wins.
LAP 64: Chandler Smith passes Kaden Honeycutt for fifth.
At lap 62, Corey Heim has led every lap. The last time this happened in a NASCAR Trucks race was Nashville Superspeedway in 2024 when Christian Eckes led 150 laps and won. Before that, it was Bristol Motor Speedway in 2012 when Timothy Peters led 204 laps and won.
Heim holds the fastest lap of the race so far and has over a six-second lead on Layne Riggs.
LAP 60: Thomas Annunziata is up to eighth, ahead of Spire Motorsports teammate Rajah Caruth. Annunziata has had some solid runs on road courses and is capitalizing on a great opportunity.
TOP-10 (LAP 60): Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Jordan Taylor, Connor Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Thomas Annunziata, Rajah Caruth, Grant Enfinger.
Supercars star Cam Waters takes 14th from Tyler Ankrum on lap 47. Waters has had a quiet day in the No. 66 ThorSport Racing Ford.
TOP-10, LAP 43: Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Jordan Taylor, Connor Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Rajah Caruth, Thomas Annunziata, Grant Enfinger.
Brent Crews lost seven positions, compared to where he finished the first stage. Crews is now 11th on lap 42, just two green-flag laps into the second stage.
Connor Mosack is making up ground, up to fourth behind Jordan Taylor. Kaden Honeycutt, who has never run on a road course according to FOX, sits fifth behind Mosack.
Stage two is 35 laps and will end on lap 70.
STAGE ONE
Even at a new track, Corey Heim still rules. He started on the pole and claimed stage one on lap 35 in the 100-lap race. He led every lap in the stage and put eight trucks in the 34-truck field a lap down.
STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 35): Corey Heim, Layne Riggs, Jordan Taylor, Brent Crews, Connor Mosack, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Rajah Caruth, Ty Majeski, Thomas Annunziata.
During the stage, Spencer Boyd went seven laps down after spinning in the grass and cutting down a right-front tire. Alex Labbe also spent time behind the wall.
Under the stage caution, Jack Wood received the free pass.
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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