Results

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.
Corey Heim celebrates in victory lane
Austin, Texas - March 23, 2024 : Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Safelite Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series XPEL 225 at Circuit of The Americas.
Sean GardnerGetty Images
XPEL 225 at Circuit of The Americas results
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

Race Infractions

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