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.
FIN | ST | # | DRIVER | MAKE | TOT PTS | FIN PTS | STG PTS | PO PTS | LAPS | LED | X LED | S1 | S2 | STATUS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 | 33 | 12 | Dale Quarterley | Toyota | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
12 | 14 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | Chevrolet | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
23 | 21 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Ford | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 10 | Running |
17 | 27 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Toyota | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
11 | 18 | 25 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 27 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | Running |
5 | 5 | 45 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
16 | 15 | 41 | Bayley Currey | Chevrolet | 21 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
30 | 30 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | Chevrolet | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
24 | 24 | 42 | Matt Mills | Chevrolet | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
35 | 32 | 2 | Mason Massey | Chevrolet | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brakes |
19 | 19 | 75 | Stefan Parsons | Chevrolet | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
6 | 6 | 1 | Jack Hawksworth | Toyota | 39 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Running |
20 | 13 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Toyota | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
7 | 34 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | Ford | 42 | 30 | 12 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | Running |
25 | 12 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum | Chevrolet | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | Running |
8 | 10 | 19 | Christian Eckes | Chevrolet | 35 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | Running |
22 | 16 | 77 | Chase Purdy | Chevrolet | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | Running |
3 | 9 | 98 | Ty Majeski | Ford | 52 | 34 | 18 | 0 | 46 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Running |
10 | 7 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Toyota | 35 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 46 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Running |
1 | 2 | 11 | Corey Heim | Toyota | 56 | 40 | 10 | 6 | 46 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 1 | Running |
33 | 20 | 33 | Lawless Alan | Ford | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rear Gear |
9 | 17 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Toyota | 30 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | Running |
29 | 26 | 32 | Bret Holmes | Chevrolet | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
13 | 22 | 91 | Jack Wood | Chevrolet | 26 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | Running |
2 | 3 | 17 | Taylor Gray | Toyota | 41 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Running |
32 | 35 | 46 | Thad Moffitt | Chevrolet | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
18 | 4 | 2 | Nicholas Sanchez | Chevrolet | 30 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 46 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Running |
15 | 11 | 71 | Rajah Caruth | Chevrolet | 26 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Running |
14 | 25 | 13 | Jake Garcia | Ford | 23 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
27 | 8 | 38 | Layne Riggs | Ford | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Running |
31 | 28 | 4 | Marco Andretti | Chevrolet | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Suspension |
28 | 23 | 43 | Daniel Dye | Chevrolet | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
4 | 1 | 7 | Connor Zilisch | Chevrolet | 38 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Running |
21 | 29 | 22 | Carter Fartuch | Ford | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running |
34 | 31 | 20 | Vicente Salas | Chevrolet | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Transmission |
Penalties imposed prior to or during the race.
Driver | Infraction | Penalty | Lap | Lap Assessed | Flag |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carter Fartuch | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Thad Moffitt | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Ben Rhodes | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Bayley Currey | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Ty Dillon | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Marco Andretti | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Lawless Alan | Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Christian Eckes | Pre-Race to the Rear Transmission Change | Tail End | 0 | 0 | White |
Taylor Gray | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 3 | Pass Thru | 1 | 1 | Green |
Lawless Alan | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 5 | Tail End | 2 | 5 | Green/Yellow |
Dale Quarterley | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 3 | 5 | Yellow |
Thad Moffitt | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Tail End | 6 | 14 | Green/Yellow |
Layne Riggs | Commitment Line Violation | Tail End | 7 | 14 | Green/Yellow |
Matt Mills | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 8 | 9 | Green |
Mason Massey | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Tail End | 9 | 14 | Green/Yellow |
Ross Chastain | Speeding on pit road | Tail End | 9 | 14 | Green/Yellow |
Layne Riggs | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 11 | 14 | Green/Yellow |
Marco Andretti | Pitting before pit road is open | Pass Thru | 14 | 15 | Green |
Thad Moffitt | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 18 | 18 | Green |
Matt Crafton | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 18 | 19 | Green |
Mason Massey | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 3 | Pass Thru | 20 | 20 | Green |
Connor Zilisch | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 20 | 21 | Green |
Christian Eckes | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 3 | Tail End | 20 | 24 | Green/Yellow |
Bayley Currey | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 21 | 24 | Yellow |
Bret Holmes | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 22 | 24 | Yellow |
Bret Holmes | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 5 | Tail End | 23 | 24 | Yellow |
Chase Purdy | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 24 | 28 | Green/Yellow |
Thad Moffitt | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 25 | 28 | Green/Yellow |
Christian Eckes | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 3 | Pass Thru | 30 | 30 | Green |
Stefan Parsons | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 5 | Pass Thru | 30 | 31 | Green |
Carter Fartuch | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 6 | Pass Thru | 30 | 32 | Green |
Daniel Dye | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 | Pass Thru | 31 | 32 | Green |
Connor Zilisch | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 3 | Pass Thru | 37 | 37 | Green |
Tyler Ankrum | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 5 | Tail End | 38 | 39 | Yellow |
Carter Fartuch | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 6 | Tail End | 40 | 44 | Green/Yellow |
Christian Eckes | Pitting before pit road is open | Tail End | 42 | 44 | Yellow |
Matt Mills | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 - 30 Second Post Race Penalty | Other - See Notes | 45 | 46 | Green |
Matt Crafton | Unspecified Short cut course - Turn 4 - 30 Second Post Race Penalty | Other - See Notes | 46 | 46 | Green |