DARLINGTON, S.C. – Same guy. Different truck. Same result.
Driving the No. 5 Tricon Garage Toyota on a part-time basis, Corey Heim shocked race leader Ross Chastain with a last-lap pass and collected his second straight victory at Darlington Raceway in Friday night’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200.
Last year, the No. 11 Tricon Tundra carried Heim to a record 12 victories and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship.
This year, the No. 5 truck carried him to a two-overtime win in his second series start of the season, as Heim is running a cobbled-together schedule of Truck Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Cup Series races.
Heim also collected the $50,000 Triple Truck Challenge bonus for the victory. Should he run again on April 3 at Rockingham Speedway, he would be eligible for a $150,000 prize available to a driver who wins two races in “The Trip.”
Heim’s overtime victory on Friday night was unlikely enough, and it boiled down to strategy. On Lap 145, with three laps left in regulation, Heim brought his Tundra to pit road for scuffed tires that were five laps fresher than those of Chastain and other frontrunners.
Restarting 15th on the first attempt at overtime, Heim gained six spots before the ninth caution for a wreck involving Jake Garcia, Tyler Ankrum, Corey LaJoie and Stewart Friesen.
Heim was ninth for the final restart and used his tires to excellent advantage, making the pass for the win through Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap.
“I’m out of breath, for sure,” said Heim, who led three times for 28 laps and picked up his 24th win in 91 Truck Series starts. “Man, we had a set of scuffs laying, and they were five laps fresher than everyone else’s. It was worth a shot. I didn’t think we could win from where we were at.
“I felt like I made all the right moves. I had it three-wide coming to the white (flag) and bombed on in there on Ross (into Turn 3). I was shocked he gave me the bottom like that with fresher tires.”
