The official 2024 XPEL 225 NASCAR TRUCK Series entry list features top NASCAR drivers set to compete at Circuit of The Americas, highlighting the full lineup of race participants and teams.
Saturday, March 23rd, 2024
Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas
An afternoon of impressive restarts ultimately handed Corey Heim the winning finish in the XPEL 225 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the famed Circuit of The Americas (COTA) road course in Austin, Texas Saturday afternoon.
Heim dominated the race – his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota leading a race best 31 of the 46 laps and prevailing in an overtime finish to convincingly win his first race of 2024 and sixth of his career – by 1.625-seconds over his teammate Taylor Gray.
ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski, Spire Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch and NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain in a Niece Motorsports Chevy rounded out the top five.
“Just prepared so hard for this race,’’ Heim said, adding, “I came into this race last year and struggled really. Finished sixth with a penalty and just all over the place. To put together a solid race like this is just so special and really just shows you how good our trucks are back at the shop”.
Heim has finished sixth or better in all five races this season.
“Just great consistency and that was the name of the game last year to make it as far as we did,’’ he said smiling. “Didn’t have the result at the end [of 2023] but I think this year we can make it back and prove we’re champions. Super excited for the rest of the year, we’re really just getting started and I think our best tracks are in front of us, so really can’t wait.
Certainly Heim’s performance Saturday on the 20-turn, 3.41-mile road course was the afternoon standard, but there was plenty of good racing behind him. There were 14 lead changes among eight drivers, but no one other than Heim led double-digit laps.
Jack Hawksworth, a sportscar and IndyCar driver making his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start certainly proved himself a talent to be reckoned with. He ran top five most of the day and led a lap. He finished sixth.
Reigning series champ Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Dean Thompson and Tanner Gray rounded out the top 10.
The 17-year-old phenom Zilisch started from pole position in his first ever start in one of NASCAR’s premier divisions. Leading the field, he went into the first corner hard, however, relinquishing the lead to Heim immediately. After a pit stop for tires and a motivational reminder from his veteran crew chief Brian Pattie, he returned with vengeance. He and his Spire Motorsports team never gave up, getting him back on the lead lap and then in contention late in the race.
Zilisch was running in fourth place with less than five laps in regulation to go but was given a pass-through penalty for cutting the course. Fortunately, it came just as a caution flew and it only cost the teenager two positions. He opted to pit for gas during the ensuing yellow flag and was able to climb back to that impressive top five finish in his first race.
Nick Sanchez won Stage 1 and Heim claimed Stage 2 – both drivers’ first stage victories of the year.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | Dale Quarterley | Westfield, MA | Jan 25, 1961 | 63 | Toyota | TBA | Young's Motorsports | Andrew Abbott |
2 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | Fairhope, AL | Jan 22, 1985 | 39 | Chevrolet | Champion Power Equipment | CR7 Motorsports | Jeff Stankiewicz |
3 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Tulare, CA | Jun 11, 1976 | 47 | Ford | Planters/Menards | ThorSport Racing | Jeriod Prince |
4 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Port Tobacco, MD | Feb 25, 1993 | 31 | Toyota | Will's Automotive | Hill Motorsports | Terry Elmore |
5 | 25 | Ty Dillon | Lewisville, NC | Feb 27, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Rackley Roofing | Rackley WAR | Shane Wilson |
6 | 45 | Ross Chastain | Alva, FL | Dec 4, 1992 | 31 | Chevrolet | TXAPA | Niece Motorsports | Phil Gould |
7 | 41 | Bayley Currey | Driftwood, TX | Oct 29, 1996 | 27 | Chevrolet | AutoVentive/Precision | Niece Motorsports | Mike Hillman Jr. |
8 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | Creve Coeur, MO | Jun 26, 1995 | 28 | Chevrolet | FR8 Factory | Freedom Racing Enterprises | Jeff Hammond |
9 | 42 | Matt Mills | Lynchburg, VA | Nov 14, 1996 | 27 | Chevrolet | J.F. Electric/Utilitra | Niece Motorsports | Jon Leonard |
10 | 2 | Mason Massey | Douglasville, GA | Jan 24, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | RANDCO | Young's Motorsports | Trip Bruce |
11 | 75 | Stefan Parsons | Cornelius, NC | Jun 15, 1998 | 25 | Chevrolet | Springrates | Henderson Motorsports | Chris Carrier |
12 | 1 | Jack Hawksworth | Bradford, W. Yorkshire, EN | Feb 28, 1991 | 33 | Toyota | Mobil 1 | TRICON Garage | Seth Smith |
13 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario | Jul 25, 1983 | 40 | Toyota | Halmar International | Halmar Friesen Racing | Jimmy Villeneuve |
14 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | Louisville, KY | Feb 21, 1997 | 27 | Ford | TSPORT Trucks | ThorSport Racing | Rich Lushes |
15 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum | San Bernardino, CA | Mar 6, 2001 | 23 | Chevrolet | LiUNA! | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Mark Hillman |
16 | 19 | Christian Eckes | MIddletown, NY | Nov 10, 2000 | 23 | Chevrolet | NAPA Auto Care | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Charles Denike |
17 | 77 | Chase Purdy | Meridian, MS | Nov 11, 1999 | 24 | Chevrolet | Bama Buggies | Spire Motorsports | Jason Trinchere |
18 | 98 | Ty Majeski | Seymour, WI | Aug 18, 1994 | 29 | Ford | Road Ranger | ThorSport Racing | Joe Shear |
19 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Artesia, NM | Apr 15, 1999 | 24 | Toyota | ShopTRICON.com | TRICON Garage | Jerame Donley |
20 | 11 | Corey Heim | Marietta, GA | Jul 5, 2002 | 21 | Toyota | Safelite | TRICON Garage | Scott Zipadelli |
21 | 33 | Lawless Alan | Los Angeles, CA | Feb 2, 2000 | 24 | Ford | AUTOChargit | Reaume Brothers Racing | Greg Rayl |
22 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Anaheim, CA | Aug 30, 2001 | 22 | Toyota | Thompson Pipe Group | TRICON Garage | Derek Smith |
23 | 32 | Bret Holmes | Munford, AL | May 5, 1997 | 26 | Chevrolet | Bret Holmes Racing | Bret Holmes Racing | Mike Shiplett |
24 | 91 | Jack Wood | Loomis, CA | Aug 7, 2000 | 23 | Chevrolet | Klotz / Cometic Gasket | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Kevin Bellicourt |
25 | 17 | Taylor Gray | Denver, NC | Mar 25, 2005 | 18 | Toyota | JBL | TRICON Garage | Jeff Hensley |
26 | 46 | Thad Moffitt | Trinity, NC | Sep 12, 2000 | 23 | Chevrolet | Induction Innovations | Faction Motorsports | Doug George |
27 | 2 | Nicholas Sanchez | Miami, FL | Jun 10, 2001 | 22 | Chevrolet | Gainbridge | Rev Racing | Bono Manion |
28 | 71 | Rajah Caruth | Atlanta, GA | Jun 11, 2002 | 21 | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com | Spire Motorsports | Chad Walter |
29 | 13 | Jake Garcia | Monroe, GA | Mar 3, 2005 | 19 | Ford | Quanta Services | ThorSport Racing | Doug Randolph |
30 | 38 | Layne Riggs | Bahama, NC | Jun 11, 2002 | 21 | Ford | Love's Travel Stops | Front Row Motorsports | Dylan Cappello |
31 | 4 | Marco Andretti | Nazareth, PA | Mar 13, 1987 | 37 | Chevrolet | Group 1001 / CarQuest | Roper Racing | Bruce Cook |
32 | 43 | Daniel Dye | DeLand, Florida | Dec 4, 2003 | 20 | Chevrolet | NAPA Nightvision | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Blake Bainbridge |
33 | 7 | Connor Zilisch | Charlotte, NC | Jul 21, 2006 | 17 | Chevrolet | Austin Hatcher Foundation | Spire Motorsports | Brian Pattie |
34 | 22 | Carter Fartuch | Schnecksville, PA | Jan 1, 2005 | 19 | Ford | TBA | Reaume Brothers Racing | John Reaume |
35 | 20 | Vicente Salas | Temecula, CA | Aug 20, 2002 | 21 | Chevrolet | TBA | Young's Motorsports | Tyler Young |