Corey Heim secured his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season in Saturday’s Xpel 225 at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
The Tricon Garage driver dominated the majority of the day aboard his No. 11 Toyota as he led a race-high 31 of the 46 laps.
Despite an overtime restart, Heim held strong to secure his sixth career Truck Series victory.
“I worked my butt off for this one. With the one (road course) race a year for the Truck Series, I felt like it was just so important for me to prove my road course ability. I knew I need to capitalize on today, and I did. After it was done with all of the late cautions, I was glad it was over and it was time to celebrate. It defintiely means a lot,” Heim said.
It was also Heim’s fifth straight top-10 finish of the season and his fourth top five.
Teammate Taylor Gray crossed the finish line in second while Ty Majeski placed third.
Perhaps the story of the day, 17-year-old polesitter Connor Zilisch, placed fourth after a rollercoaster day saw the Spire Motorsports driver go from the back to the front multiple times before scoring a strong top-five finish in his Truck Series debut.
NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain completed the top five.
Notably, defending IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship co-champion in the GTD PRO class, Jack Hawksworth, placed sixth in his Truck Series debut with Tricon Garage.
A Rollercoaster Day For Zilisch
Zilisch had quite the day at COTA after starting on pole.
On lap one, the 17-year-old endured a flat left front tire on lap one as he overshot the first corner. After pitting for tires, Zilisch had to pit shortly after again to repair a sway bar. He’d go a lap down.
The free pass was handed to Zilisch on lap 12. He was later handed a penalty for cutting turn four, and he’d have to serve a pass through penalty.
The Spire Motorsports driver would make quick work between stages one and two, as he’d vault to sixth by the end of the second stage.
While he’d reach second place with 13 laps to go, he’d fade to fourth before another penalty for exceeding track limits derailed another jump to the front.
However, cautions were on his side as he was able to jump back into the top-10 before an overtime restart.
From there, he clawed his way to fourth by race’s end.