AVONDALE, Ariz. – Corey Heim was chasing Ty Majeski in his tracks, keeping the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series championship battle close at Phoenix Raceway for the first half of Friday evening’s race. That went away on Lap 99.
While restarting from the inside of the third row, Heim dipped below Layne Riggs before the start/finish line, resulting in a restart violation. Heim was saved from possibly losing a lap when a multi-car incident broke out on the backstretch, allowing the No. 11 truck to serve the penalty under caution.
Initially, Heim was surprised to be called for the restart violation.
“It was an instinctual reaction for me to go for it,” Heim said. “I thought I saw [Riggs] pulling down towards the apron and he sort of cut back and I kept tracking that initial line he had down to the apron. I’m sure it looked bad on TV, but it’s a big gray area rule with how everyone dips down to the apron because if the leader stays up on the actual race track and doesn’t cut down to the apron and someone cuts down to the apron that’s also cutting down to the apron too soon.
“I had no idea that I did anything wrong to begin with but I certainly could have.”
Heim still had one-third of the race to mow back through the field. The No. 11 Toyota took advantage of two additional restarts to power up to second position for the sprint to the finish. Majeski, who dominated by leading 132 of 150 laps, pulled away and stretched his lead to 3.9 seconds over Heim at the checkered flag.
Heim believes he had the second best truck in the field by a considerable margin. He was able to stay ahead of Christian Eckes, who had fresher tires at the end of the race compared to the No. 11 truck.
“They were lights out and probably two-tenths better than me a lap at 100%,” Heim added. “The unfortunate part is, I feel like we were pretty good. We were probably two-tenths better than the guys behind us. If you take them out of the equation, we were far and beyond the best truck.
“It’s hard to even be frustrated. What could I even have done at that point? Super proud of everyone at Tricon Garage. They put together a phenomenal 2024 campaign. Nothing to hang our heads about, we could have easily ended up on top. We finished one spot short, but it’s part of it.”
Tricon Garage team owner David Gilliland was thrilled with Heim’s performance throughout the 2024 season. The No. 11 team led the series with six triumphs.
“The [No.] 98 tonight was just better,” Gilliland said. “As a racer, it sucks to lose, but to lose to a better truck, I can swallow that. Those guys did their homework and brought a very fast truck to the race track. They were just a little better tonight.”
Moving back through the field, Heim abused his Goodyear tires, but he doesn’t believe that was a factor in whether he won or not.
“There were no tires that were going to allow me be with him tonight – he was lights out,” Heim stated.
Heim will return for a third season with Tricon in 2025. He has qualified for the Championship 4 in his first two seasons as a full-time competitor.