NASCAR News: Corey Heim wins Watkins Glen Truck Race

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship leader Corey Heim scored his fourth consecutive road-course victory—the sixth of his career in a dramatic triple overtime finish as nightfall approached in Friday’s Mission 176 at The Glen at the historic Watkins Glen International.

The 23-year-old Georgia native took the lead on a restart on the first overtime, then held position in his No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota with a pair of masterful restarts on the second and third overtime periods, ultimately holding off former Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric and rookie Gio Ruggiero by 0.202 seconds.

It was Heim’s 17th series win, and he became the youngest driver in series history to claim that total. This was the second time this season he’s won from pole position.

The race on the 2.45-mile historic venue in Upstate New York was relatively calm and clean early on, with only a single extra caution in addition to the first two stage breaks. But a steady barrage of incidents forced six more caution periods and the three overtimes — the race only finishing within a couple of minutes of when NASCAR had pre-determined to call it official because of darkness.

Heim got the jump on the final overtime, but then slowed slightly and wiggled the front end of his Toyota in an effort to get the fuel pick-up. It did the trick, and he was able to go full throttle again, fending off Hemric in the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevy and 19-year-old Ruggiero in the No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota.

“Just never give up,” said Heim, who led a race-high 44 laps but had to rally from 11th place on a Lap 43 restart. “I got behind in that last stage and was scratching and clawing, trying to get back through the field.

“I had my brakes pretty much go out on me completely on that long green-flag run, was beating them up trying to get back through the field — blew the bus stop chicane between turns four and five — and made a lot of mistakes myself. I’ve had a lot of them get away from us this year by cautions or whatever else, finally had one go our way.”

The Craftsman Truck Series moves to the Richmond Raceway three-quarter miler for next Friday’s regular-season finale, the eero 250.

Race Results