Georgia native Corey Heim passed teammate Chandler Smith on the last lap and ran away to score his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.
For Heim, a 19-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, the win comes in his fifth career start.
The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver led 22 of the race’s 135 laps.
He took the lead for the last time after diving to Smith’s inside as they entered Turn 1. Their teammate, John Hunter Nemechek, was off the lead lap and had been running interference for them for multiple laps. When Heim made his move, Nemechek made the decision to go with Heim, helping push him to the lead.
Heim was followed in the top five by Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski, Chandler Smith and Zane Smith.
Heim is the first Truck Series winner not named Smith to win in the last five races.
“It was awesome, I can’t believe it,” Heim told Fox Sports 1. “We just put ourselves in the right place at the right time. … This truck looks awesome in victory lane.”
About how the race played out with his teammates, Heim said “no team orders there. I think as long as one KBM truck won that’s all that mattered. … Got to give all the credit to John Hunter Nemechek for helping me out there.”
Smith, who won the last race at Las Vegas, wished he could “duke it out with (Heim), just us, not having anybody in the middle of it. …. Happy for him. Happy for that whole group.”
Matt DiBenedetto, who qualified second, got into the outside wall in Turn 3 on the first lap. The very next time around, he cut down a right-side tire.Â
DiBenedetto finished 30th.
Stewart Friesen took the lead from Chandler Smith on the first lap.
On Lap 7, Hailie Deegan had to pit for a cut left-rear tire. A few laps later she had to pit again for another cut tire. By the end of the stage she was back on pit road having another left-rear tire, which was on fire, taken off the car. Deegan was treated and released from the medical center. She finished last.
— Hailie Deegan (@HailieDeegan) March 19, 2022
Friesen kept the lead for the entire first stage, which went caution free.
Friesen won the stage by half a truck length over Grant Enfinger. The top five was completed Derek Kraus, Christian Eckes and Matt Crafton.
The 30 laps led by Friesen in the first stage were 10 more than he led in all of 2021.
Under caution, Eckes and Crafton were the first off pit road.
Friesen regained the lead on the restart and kept it until the race’s first natural caution on Lap 49 for debris on the frontstretch in the form of a spring.
Friesen’s team decided to pit to top off on fuel. John Hunter Nemechek took the lead.
The second stage ended in a five-lap dash.
Nemechek passed Majeski coming to one lap to go. He was on the backstretch when the caution came out for tire debris from Ross Chastain’s No. 41 truck.
Nemechek won the stage over Majeski, Chandler Smith, Eckes, Tyler Ankrum, Crafton, Thompson, Tanner Gray, Carson Hocevar and Ryan Preece.
Preece won the race off pit road, but was sent to the rear for penalty for removing equipment. Friesen again led on the restart, but Enfinger passed him on the first lap.
The first caution for a crash occurred with 67 laps to go. It involved Eckes, Lawless Alan, Thompson and Colby Howard.
The race resume with 60 laps to go as Enfinger kept the lead.
The caution returned with four laps later for a Tate Fogleman spin on the frontstretch after he made contact with Jordan Anderson.
Friesen took fuel only and came off pit road in fifth.Â
Enfinger had a disastrous pit stop. After taking right-side tires, he ran over the hose for the tire gun and had to back up into his pit box.Â
He wound up with a 12th-place finish.
Preece led over Zane Smith and Heim on the restart with 51 laps to go. Heim immediately took the lead.
Another caution came with 45 laps to go. Entering Turn 1, Anderson attempted to move up in front of Tanner Gray. Anderson wasn’t clear of him, though, and he was tagged by Gray who turned him down into Fogleman.
The race went back to green with 38 laps to go as Ben Rhodes moved into the lead.
After another minor caution, the race resumed with 29 laps to go.
Five laps later, John Hunter Nemechek and Matt Crafton got into each other and suffered damaged that forced them both to pit.
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