With the ARCA race in the books, it was time for the truckers of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to take center stage at the historic Charlotte Motor Speedway. There were several storylines heading into tonight’s race. For starters, Corey Heim very realistically could have won every single race this season. However, sometimes Lady Luck just wasn’t on his side. He dominated races at both Martinsville and Kansas. At the paperclip, Heim was dumped on the last lap by Layne Riggs. The second-generation driver of Riggs sure isn’t making any friends in the Truck Series as he also got roughed up Cup Series regular, Carson Hocevar, at Kansas. Was he able to clean up his act tonight or was he still pushing his Front Row number 34 truck to the limits?
As stated above, Heim has been head and shoulders above the rest of his competition this year. Did anybody have anything for him? Did Lady Luck once again give him a cool shrug of the shoulder? Let’s talk about it. Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from tonight’s NC Education Lottery 201 from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
You never forget your first Kennametal Pole Award! pic.twitter.com/rX0sruCOvR
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 23, 2025
We knew going in that Corey Heim was going to be the guy to beat. What we didn’t know was whether or not he’d be able to put it all together in order to score his fourth win of the season. We here at the Daily Downforce are pleased to report that, yes, he was and yes, he really is the real deal. What we saw in this race was an old-fashioned butt-whooping by Heim. In was in a class of his own. Not even Ross Chastain nor Kyle Busch could hang with him. With this victory, he extends his overall points lead, nearing a full race ahead of second-place Chandler Smith. He also broke the record, becoming the first driver in Truck Series history to reach 15 wins by the age of 22.
It was a truck race in the year 2025. That could only mean 1 thing: Corey Heim quickly made his way up through the field and captured the race lead. This week, the driver he outdueled for the lead was Cup Series veteran Ross Chastain. Heim took the lead from the number 44 Chevy and raced away. He went on to win the opening stage of tonight’s race, which marked his 7th stage win of the year.
During pit stops amidst the stage break, Heim lost the lead to Kaden Honeycutt. But that was only a momentary setback. As soon the race restarted, the fight was on between the 45 and 11 trucks. Corey Heim ruthlessly retook the lead shortly thereafter with this aggressive but still clean move. Check it out.
Again, Heim went on to win the stage. It was his eighth of the year, meaning that he was, once again, in contention for a mass points night. We all knew that Heim was more than capable of sweeping the stages tonight at Charlotte. He has already done just that several times this year. However, typically after this second stage win, this is when things tend of go off the rails for him and his number 11 Tundra crew. All race long, they lost the race off pit road to Kaden Honeycutt. It happened once again in the stage 2 and 3 stage break. However, just like the start of the second stage, Heim lasted little time retaking the lead. As Honeycutt faded, a very loose Ross Chastain battled Heim for the race lead. Heim inevitably prevailed.
Aside from a couple of incidents early on in the final stage, Stage 3 went green for a long stretch, prompting a cycle of green flag pit stops. Heim’s number 11 team performed admirably on pit road, which helped Heim, giving him a six-second lead over Ross Chastain. He ran the race out to the finish, finally winning after so many close calls in recent weeks. This marked his 15th career victory, making him, at age 22, the youngest driver in history to reach that benchmark. It was his 4th win on the year but, as stated previously in this article, he could be sitting here with 8 wins if everything went his way.
While all eyes are on Kyle Larson this weekend as he attempts the Double for the second year in a row, he wasn’t the only driver who attempted double duty in a single day this weekend. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winner Grant Enfinger competed in both the ARCA race and the Truck race tonight at CMS, back-to-back. In the ARCA race, his number 97 Ford was fast on the longer run and was looking pretty sporty in the closing laps of that race. He was able to get around the number 18 of William Sawalich but didn’t have enough time to be able to challenge Austin Green for the win. He ultimately finished runner-up.
In tonight’s truck race, Grant wasn’t quite as fast but was quietly solid. He didn’t earn any stage points in the first stage (he wound up in the 16th position) but was able to crack the top 10 by the end of the second stage. As the night went on, though, his truck got better and better with him working his way up to 6th and challenging the top 5.
After a cycle of green flag pit stops put him behind, Enfinger was able to work his way back up to 6th and complete his version of the “Double”. It was a good, solid, clean run for him as he sits in the top 5 in the overall points standings.
The biggest on-track incident of the night, unfortunately, involved a couple of championship favorites. 2025 winner Chandler Smith got sideways and collected the defending champion, Ty Majeski. The cause of the wreck was simply hard racing and not enough real estate. Coming out of turn 4, Rajah Caruth in the number 71 HendrickCars.com slammed the door on Chandler Smith, which stacked things up. Smith got a little squirely and turned into Majeski. The impact caused both trucks to go spinning into the infield. This triggered a caution, and Smith’s truck was absolutely totaled. He ended up retiring from the race.
It has been a dismal year so far for ThorSport Racing. When it comes to their four entries, Jake Garcia in the 13 truck has the best average finish at 10.6. Majeski, meanwhile, has an average finish of 15th. That’s far from ideal when we’re talking about the defending champion. Thus far in 2025, the team hasn’t even come close to sniffing victory lane, let alone been in the championship discussion.
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