Corey Heim grabs overtime NASCAR Truck Series victory at Gateway WWT Raceway in the Toyota 200 on Saturday afternoon.
MADISON, Ill.—Pole winner Corey Heim lost the lead on lap 18 of Saturday’s Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Corey Heim Grabs Overtime NASCAR Truck Series Victory at Gateway
He didn’t regain it until the first lap of overtime when frontrunner Christian Eckes spun his tires on a restart on lap 164.
But that was enough for Heim to score his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season in a part-time role in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.
Eckes was leading comfortably with just over two laps left in regulation when Tanner Gray spun in the third turn to cause the tenth caution of the race. Eckes chose the outside lane for the overtime restart, with second-place Derek Kraus lining up behind him.
That opened the bottom row for Heim, who lined up to the inside of Eckes and surged into the lead when Eckes’ No. 98 Toyota failed to launch.
After taking the white flag, Heim got the win when a four-car wreck in the second turn brought out the 11th caution and froze the field.
“I can’t believe I got the bottom right there—that’s unbelievable,” said Heim, who picked up his second career win in his 12th start in the series. “A great push from my teammate Chandler Smith right there…”
Smith finished third behind Heim and Eckes after leading twice for 40 laps. Stewart Friesen came home fourth, followed by former series champion Johnny Sauter who scored his second straight top-five finish in his third start of the year.
Defending Winner JH Nemechek Drops Out of the Race
It took a succession of bizarre circumstances to give Heim the window of opportunity he needed. On lap 54, pre-race favorite John Hunter Nemechek, who entered the race as the series leader, spun in the fourth turn while trying an aggressive inside move on Friesen.
With his Toyota damaged beyond repair, Nemechek dropped out of the race.
“That was on me,” Nemechek said. “I put myself in a vulnerable spot.”
Several Drivers Experience a Bad Day
Eight laps after Nemechek’s wreck, Grant Enfinger spun while battling Chandler Smith for the lead, and both trucks slid sideways in tandem, with Enfinger suffering the bulk of the damage.
During a two-lap shootout at the end of Stage 2, Friesen, who had been running consistently in the top five, suffered a flat tire after contact from Hailie Deegan’s Ford and expressed his displeasure by crowding Deegan toward the apron.
On lap 102, three-time 2022 winner Zane Smith fell off the pace with a flat tire after contact from Carson Hocevar’s Chevrolet. He recovered to finish ninth.
Eckes, Kraus, and Heim Left to Battle for the Lead
That left Eckes, Kraus, and Heim to battle for the lead late in the race. Eckes passed Kraus for the top spot on lap 154 of a scheduled 160 and appeared bound for victory until the overtime scrambled the finishing order.
“It’s really frustrating,” Eckes said. “The last three weeks, we should have won, but we didn’t. So we’ll go back to the drawing board and try to figure something out.”
The Best of the Rest
Matt DiBenedetto ran sixth, followed by Kraus, Ben Rhodes, Zane Smith, and Chase Purdy. Rajah Caruth finished 11th in his series debut. Rhodes regained the series lead by 17 points over Chandler Smith.
Toyota’s sweep of the top five was the sixth in Truck Series history. The first such sweep occurred at Gateway in 2006.
Hocevar Suffers an Injury
Hocevar, involved in the wreck that ended the race under caution, was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
The NASCAR Truck Series Point Standings
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – 9th Annual Toyota 200
World Wide Technology Raceway
Madison, Illinois
Saturday, June 4, 2022
1. (1) Corey Heim #, Toyota, 165.
2. (5) Christian Eckes, Toyota, 165.
3. (4) Chandler Smith, Toyota, 165.
4. (3) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 165.
5. (18) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 165.
6. (16) Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, 165.
7. (36) Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 165.
8. (15) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 165.
9. (2) Zane Smith, Ford, 165.
10. (13) Chase Purdy, Toyota, 165.
11. (19) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 165.
12. (11) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 165.
13. (20) Tyler Ankrum, Toyota, 165.
14. (25) Dean Thompson #, Chevrolet, 165.
15. (26) Hailie Deegan, Ford, 165.
16. (30) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 165.
17. (29) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 165.
18. (24) Lawless Alan #, Chevrolet, 165.
19. (32) Jack Wood #, Chevrolet, 165.
20. (22) Jesse Little, Chevrolet, 165.
21. (35) Tate Fogleman, Toyota, 165.
22. (23) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, 165.
23. (7) Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 165.
24. (12) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, Accident, 164.
25. (27) Tyler Hill, Toyota, Accident, 164.
26. (28) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, Accident, 164.
27. (33) Mason Maggio, Chevrolet, 164.
28. (10) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 163.
29. (21) Jake Garcia, Chevrolet, 161.
30. (14) Tanner Gray, Ford, Accident, 156.
31. (34) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, Electrical, 151.
32. (8) Ty Majeski, Toyota, 136.
33. (17) Kris Wright, Chevrolet, Accident, 93.
34. (31) Brennan Poole, Toyota, Rear Gear, 77.
35. (6) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, DVP, 57.
36. (9) Taylor Gray, Ford, Accident, 45.
The Toyota 200 Stats
Average Speed of Race Winner: 86.397 mph.
Time of Race: Two Hrs, 23 Mins, 14 Secs. The Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds.
Caution Flags: 11 for 54 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among nine drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Heim # 1-17;C. Smith 18-39;G. Enfinger 40-43;C. Smith 44-61;B. Rhodes 62-72;C. Hocevar 73-80;Z. Smith 81-96;S. Friesen 97-109;B. Rhodes 110-141;D. Kraus 142-153;C. Eckes 154-162;C. Heim # 163-165.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ben Rhodes two times for 43 laps; Chandler Smith two times for 40 laps; Corey Heim # two times for 20 laps; Zane Smith one time for 16 laps; Stewart Friesen one time for 13 laps; Derek Kraus one time for 12 laps; Christian Eckes one time for nine laps; Carson Hocevar one time for eight laps; Grant Enfinger one time for four laps.
Stage 1 Top Ten: 18,51,4,38,52,66,23,98,88,91
Stage 2 Top Ten: 99,88,19,61,22,42,1,51,52,38