Corey Heim leads 99 of 100 laps to win inaugural NASCAR Truck race at Lime Rock

When it comes to a perfect race, they don’t get much better than what Corey Heim did on Saturday in the inaugural NASCAR Truck race at Lime Rock Park. He started from pole, posted the fastest lap, won both stages, and led 99 of 100 laps on his way to capturing the checkered flag. Layne Riggs led one lap as he nosed ahead of Heim (briefly) on a restart.

Heim now has 16 career wins in the Truck Series, which is tenth on the all-time wins list.

“It was nothing short of incredible, man,” said Heim. “These are the races I really look forward to. I prepare pretty hard for them and to see that all pay off is super special. The truck was so good today. I can’t complain one bit about that. Flawless day. We’ll take that and move forward.”

Ty Majeski finished second, Gio Ruggiero third, Ben Rhodes fourth, and Australian Supercars star Cam Waters rounded out the top five. Chandler Smith was sixth, Josh Bilicki seventh, Brent Crews eighth, Daniel Hemric ninth, and Tyler Ankrum tenth.

The final stage was delayed due to one truck leaking fluid, forcing a brief red flag. Once things got back rolling, Heim remained fully in control with Riggs second and Mosack moving up to third as Taylor slipped back.

Matt Crafton went off track and made an unscheduled pit stop as a result but again, there was no need for a full-course yellow. Dawson Sutton was also forced to limp back to the pits after suffering a cut tire.

It looked like the race might go caution-free, but Matt Mills got stuck off-track with just 11 laps to go, causing the first natural yellow of the race.

That restart ended up being the most hectic as Jordan Taylor lost control and spun from inside the top five. A couple other trucks were collected including his teammate Rajah Caruth, but the race remained green and Heim escaped the chaos unscathed. Taylor, who had run inside the top five all day, ended up 20th due to the late-race spin.

Stages 1 and 2

The race was remarkably clean with Heim leading the way from the very start. The No. 11 TRICON Toyota was unstoppable, never truly relinquishing control of the race.

Spencer Boyd was the first incident of the 100-lapper, spinning off into the grass before carrying on. Heim earned the Stage 1 win with over seven seconds between himself and Layne Riggs with IMSA star Jordan Taylor in third.

The second stage was much of the same with no notable incidents and Heim again driving off with the stage win. Riggs remained second and Taylor third. Passing appeared to be very difficult around the small road course.