Groovy Hollow Recap
It has all come down to this. After 25 weeks, it is time to crown the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion. We’ve simmered down the contenders to four: Corey Heim (entering with 11 wins on the year), Ty Majeski (the defending champion), Tyler Ankrum, and Kaden Honeycutt. In a winner-take-all battle, who came out on top?
Additionally, we have a number of drivers looking to spoil and win the race for themselves, just to end the year on a positive note. One of those drivers, Matt Crafton, fired his engine for the last time. He will retire from full-time racing when the checkered flag flies this evening. So, who came out on top? Let’s break it down. Here’s everything that happened in the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Finale at Phoenix.
Layne Riggs scored the pole for tonight’s season finale but due to unapproved changes made to his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, he had to start today’s race in the rear of the field. So, leading the field to the green tonight were his FRM teammate, Chandler Smith, and Brent Crews in the Tricon No. 1.
Chandler Smith rocketed out front at the beginning of this race, taking the lead. We got our first caution on Lap 1, causing a false start. This was due to Dawson Sutton getting hard into the outside wall, ending his night and season prematurely. The race restarted and we were green the rest of the way through the stage end. After leading the opening 21 laps, Smith came down pit road with an issue. It was reported that his right rear tire was loose. So, he relinquished the lead and lost a lap in the process.
Championship 4 contender Corey Heim, inherited the lead and led to the end of the stage, taking the win. He led fellow Championship 4 contenders Ty Majeski (3rd), Kaden Honeycutt (7th) and Tyler Ankrum (14th). If all went to plan, it appeared early on that Corey Heim might just cruise to victory. Don’t count the chickens before they hatch, though. After being the odds-on favorite the last two year, it is typically this race when that No. 11 team comes unraveled, sometimes by their own doing, sometimes not.
*(x) = Championship 4 Driver
**(x) = Championship Leader at Stage End
Stage 2 was relatively calm and uneventful–the calm before the storm. While Corey Heim led (leading the most lads he’d ever led at Phoenix), Layne Riggs, who might have had the fastest overall truck in the field, continued his march to the front after starting in the rear. By the end of this stage, he managed to work his way up to the 7th position. He was definitely going to be a threat for the win in the closing laps of the race.
Corey Heim continued to lead. However, of the Championship 4, he wasn’t the fastest on track. Ty Majeski was creeping forward, slipping into 2nd and reeling the No. 11 Toyota in. Kaden Honeycutt also continued to inch forward as he made it up to the 4th position, setting up for a thrilling final stage. The fourth wheel of the Championship 4, Tyler Ankrum, continued to be a non-factor. He ended the stage in 17th.
Corey Heim went on to win an extremely fast second stage, adding to his already impressive resume. Could he keep it up and go for a perfect race to capture his first ever NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship?
*(x) = Championship 4 Driver
**(x) = Championship Leader at Stage End
In the final stage of the race, the story when it came to the championship battle was just how close Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, and Kaden Honeycutt were. Heim led but he wasn’t getting away from either the No. 98 or the No. 52, who continued to add pressure. Tyler Ankrum attempted a Hail Mary pass with pit strategy to get track position under caution. It worked but he was unable to stay in the top 7. The No. 18 truck just didn’t have it today and was consistently the fourth best truck of the Championship 4 all race long.
It took pretty much the whole race. But, with 23 laps to go, at long last, Layne Riggs finally worked his way up through the field and snatched the lead away from Corey Heim. Riggs, though no longer in the driver’s championship picture, was still racing for the race win and the owner’s title for Front Row Motorsports. At 10 laps to go, he started to expand his lead as Majeski became larger in the rear-view mirror of Corey Heim.
Nobody wanted to see what happened next. Connor Mosack had a tire rub on the left front with only 3 laps to go. This presumably came after contact with someone. NASCAR called the No. 81 down pit road but they stayed out on the track. Subsequently, the tire went down and they got into the wall, triggering a caution and an Overtime restart. Because of this, NASCAR called that team to the NASCAR hauler after the race.
There was some debate as to whether or not the field would come down pit road for tires. Ultimately, all the leaders came down pit road. However, Stefan Parsons and the No.62 truck of Butcher stayed out. A number of drivers only took two tires, including Ty Majeski and Kaden Honeycutt. Layne Riggs and Corey Heim both took 4. This put them back in the 9th and 10th positions respectively for the first overtime attempt.
The race restarted. Two laps to go! Going into turn 1, we were 7-wide, with Corey Heim all the way down next to the inside wall, performing a dive bomb. Coming out of the corner, Ty Majeski took the lead on the high side with Corey Heim slotting in in 2nd. They were coming out of Turn 4 to take the white flag when the two who didn’t pit caused a stack-up in the middle of the pack. This caused a huge wreck, which collected Grant Enfinger and Championship 4 Hopeful Tyler Ankrum.
We went green, and Heim wrestled the lead away from Majeski on the backstretch. They managed to make it around for the white flag. The next flag will end this race. Somehow, no more incidents occurred. Corey Heim went on to win the race (his 12th this season) and his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship!
In the end, this was a fun, clean, largely uneventful race where the best trucks won out. Layne Riggs was the fastest and best truck during the race, by far. He went on to win the owner’s championship. And Corey Heim inarguably had the best driver all year, finally got the job done here tonight.
*x = Championship 4 Driver
**x = Champion
He was the overwhelming favorite heading into tonight. He’s been in this very position three years previously, but something always went wrong. Today, though, he was able to seal the deal. After leading a race-high of 100 laps, and sweeping the stages, Corey Heim is officially a NASCAR Champion. This was the only acceptable outcome in the eyes of many fans. Heim, who has won 12 races this year, has been the guy week in and week out. What a perfect way to cap off his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career.
At this point in time, it is not yet known what Corey Heim’s plans are for the 2026 NASCAR season. We only know that he will not return to Tricon next year for a full-time Truck campaign. Rather, it is expected that he will run select races across all three series, aiming for a full-time Cup Series ride in 2027. The teams he will run for is also unknown at this point. JGR is unlikely for Heim in the Xfinity Series due to his strained relationship with team co-owner Ty Gibbs. However, Sam Hunt Racing is a possibility. In the Cup Series, he could end up making select starts for 23XI and/or Legacy Motor Club. And, expect him to run part-time in the truck series for Tricon Garage.
Regardless of his future plans, Corey Heim is the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion and no one can take that away from him.
Of the Championship 4, the only driver who has won a title previously was Ty Majeski. He got the job done in last year and was defending his title. Unfortunately, his defense was unsuccessful. As he stated in his post-race interview, at times, he felt like he was better than the 11. But only marginally better and, in the end, it didn’t matter. Heim as champion seemed inevitable. He finished the race in 2nd as well as finished runner-up in the points.
Kaden Honeycutt has had an impressive year. He made the NASCAR Playoffs on points. And even after Niece Motorsports fired him for having the audacity to sign to another team for next year, he quickly landed on his feet, driving the No. 52 Toyota for an injured Stewart Friesen. While, yes, Honeycutt as champion was the underdog favorite pick, it was a long shot going in. The No. 52 just didn’t have what it took to get by the 11 of Heim nor the 98 of Majeski. This resulted in him finishing the race in 3rd as well as 3rd in the overall standings.
For the 2026 season. Honeycutt will move over to Tricon Garage, taking over the No. 11 truck for a departing Corey Heim.
Tyler Ankrum had an off night. From the drop of the green flag, it was abundantly clear that the No. 18 BMR Chevy just didn’t have what the other three championship contenders had. He managed to finish in the top 15 in Stage 1 and finished 17th in stage 2. He was never really a factor, even when he tried different strategies. Ankrum was caught up in a late-race incident, driving a nail into his 2025 championship hopes. There’s always next year! He crossed the line in the 14th position, the worst among championship contenders.
What did you think of this race? Did you pick Corey Heim to win it all? Let us know! Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates. Be sure to tune back in here tomorrow at DailyDownforce.com for our weekly Xfinity Series coverage!
