Loop Data Box Score

XPEL 225

Saturday, March 23rd, 2024

Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas

  • 8 Toyota
  • 20 Chevrolet
  • 7 Ford

  • Circuit of The Americas
  • XPEL 225
  • Pole Winner: Connor Zilisch
  • Age: 17
  • Team : No. 7 - Austin Hatcher Foundation Chevrolet
  • Owner: Jeff Dickerson
  • Crew Chief: Brian Pattie
  • Connor Zilisch won the Pole Award for the XPEL 225 with a lap of 131.983 seconds, 93.012 mph.
  • This is his first pole in one NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races.
  • This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2024.
  • This is his first pole in one races at Circuit of The Americas.
  • Corey Heim (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2024 and his first in two races at Circuit of The Americas.
  • Taylor Gray (third) posted his second top-10 start at Circuit of The Americas. It is his second in five races this season.
  • Layne Riggs (eighth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

  • Saturday, March 23rd, 2024
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Holly Cain
Corey Heim charges to Victory Lane at the Circuit of The Americas

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.

  • Drivers Entered: 35
  • Laps Scheduled: 42
  • Laps Actual: 46 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
  • Margin of Victory: 01.625 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 15 Minutes 26 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 69.492
  • Cautions: 6 for 10 laps
  • Lead Changes: 14
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,554 (43.2 passes per green flag lap)

  • Circuit of The Americas
  • XPEL 225
  • Race Winner: Corey Heim
  • Age: 21
  • Team : No. 11 - Safelite Toyota
  • Owner: Johnny Gray
  • Crew Chief: Scott Zipadelli
  • Corey Heim won the XPEL 225, his sixth victory in 46 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races.
  • This is his first victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2024.
  • This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in two races at Circuit of The Americas.
  • Taylor Gray (second) posted his first top-10 finish in three races at Circuit of The Americas. It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2024.
  • Ty Majeski (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Circuit of The Americas.
  • Layne Riggs (27th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • Corey Heim leads the point standings by 10 points over Ty Majeski.
Ben Rhodes celebrates in victory lane
Avondale, Arizona - November 3, 2023 : Ben Rhodes, driver of the #99 Kubota Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship, finishing first of the Championship 4 drivers in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Craftsman 150 at Phoenix Raceway.
Chris GraythenGetty Images
XPEL 225 at Circuit of The Americas : Loop Data Box Score results
DRIVER ST MID CLO FIN HI LOW ARP PL DIF GFP GFxP PD QPS % QPS FST % T15 LED % LED LAPS DR TOT PTS
Corey Heim 2 15 1 1 1 24 3.0 1 23 29 -6 20 86.96 20 97.8 31 67.4 46 138.80 50
Taylor Gray 3 7 2 2 1 30 12.4 1 63 75 -12 24 38.10 0 63.0 0 0.0 46 84.30 41
Ty Majeski 9 5 3 3 1 19 4.4 6 28 21 7 23 82.14 1 95.7 2 4.4 46 112.40 52
Connor Zilisch 1 21 8 4 1 34 16.7 -3 55 57 -2 24 43.64 6 47.8 0 0.0 46 107.50 38
Ross Chastain 5 20 5 5 2 27 11.9 0 49 53 -4 23 46.94 0 67.4 0 0.0 46 79.70 0
Jack Hawksworth 6 16 6 6 1 21 5.9 0 24 34 -10 20 83.33 1 89.1 1 2.2 46 102.20 0
Ben Rhodes 34 3 7 7 1 34 11.0 27 71 27 44 40 56.34 0 80.4 0 0.0 46 91.70 42
Christian Eckes 10 11 21 8 1 27 12.3 2 75 53 22 32 42.67 0 69.6 1 2.2 46 86.30 35
Dean Thompson 17 17 13 9 3 25 11.7 8 44 53 -9 25 56.82 0 73.9 0 0.0 46 83.20 30
Tanner Gray 7 18 15 10 1 25 11.2 -3 51 34 17 28 54.90 1 69.6 4 8.7 46 89.90 35
Ty Dillon 18 27 12 11 9 29 15.4 7 60 42 18 29 48.33 0 54.4 0 0.0 46 68.50 27
Grant Enfinger 14 6 17 12 6 27 13.8 2 46 61 -15 29 63.04 0 76.1 0 0.0 46 67.50 25
Jack Wood 22 22 23 13 9 24 16.6 9 59 57 2 16 27.12 0 30.4 0 0.0 46 66.20 26
Jake Garcia 25 25 20 14 5 28 20.2 11 46 54 -8 4 8.70 0 13.0 0 0.0 46 55.20 23
Rajah Caruth 11 2 10 15 1 28 12.8 -4 52 66 -14 19 36.54 0 71.7 0 0.0 46 70.30 26
Bayley Currey 15 23 19 16 11 33 23.5 -1 68 30 38 2 2.94 0 8.7 0 0.0 46 66.80 21
Timmy Hill 27 24 25 17 13 32 21.0 10 53 48 5 1 1.89 0 10.9 0 0.0 46 67.30 20
Nicholas Sanchez 4 29 4 18 1 29 8.6 -14 49 61 -12 24 48.98 0 82.6 4 8.7 46 92.10 29
Stefan Parsons 19 19 14 19 3 27 14.9 0 65 88 -23 31 47.69 0 65.2 0 0.0 46 57.00 18
Stewart Friesen 13 1 9 20 1 32 12.4 -7 46 76 -30 29 63.04 0 78.3 2 4.4 46 65.70 17
Carter Fartuch 29 28 24 21 15 31 24.4 8 50 44 6 2 4.00 0 2.2 0 0.0 46 41.50 16
Chase Purdy 16 26 22 22 7 29 16.9 -6 48 38 10 16 33.33 0 39.1 0 0.0 46 61.30 19
Matt Crafton 21 10 11 23 4 23 10.9 -2 58 42 16 40 68.97 0 87.0 0 0.0 46 73.20 18
Matt Mills 24 8 16 24 8 26 18.4 0 58 62 -4 5 8.62 0 19.6 0 0.0 46 48.50 12
Tyler Ankrum 12 4 18 25 2 27 12.9 -13 53 21 32 24 45.28 0 67.4 0 0.0 46 69.00 23
Dale Quarterley 33 12 26 26 12 33 24.9 7 42 59 -17 0 0.00 0 4.4 0 0.0 45 52.00 11
Layne Riggs 8 32 28 27 1 34 28.0 -19 13 34 -21 4 30.77 0 10.9 1 2.3 43 69.30 10
Daniel Dye 23 33 29 28 18 33 29.8 -5 15 24 -9 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 42 36.80 9
Bret Holmes 26 30 30 29 14 34 27.4 -3 33 36 -3 1 3.03 0 8.7 0 0.0 42 39.00 8
Spencer Boyd 30 34 31 30 28 35 33.0 0 6 19 -13 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 42 45.50 7
Marco Andretti 28 14 27 31 14 31 27.0 -3 25 34 -9 0 0.00 0 2.2 0 0.0 40 41.00 6
Thad Moffitt 35 35 33 32 28 35 34.0 3 8 10 -2 0 0.00 0 0.0 0 0.0 39 26.00 5
Lawless Alan 20 31 32 33 11 35 26.8 -13 41 25 16 2 4.88 0 8.7 0 0.0 34 64.80 4
Vicente Salas 31 9 34 34 9 31 27.8 -3 40 35 5 0 0.00 0 2.2 0 0.0 33 45.70 3
Mason Massey 32 13 35 35 13 32 28.4 -3 37 46 -9 0 0.00 0 2.2 0 0.0 32 44.50 2