The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs begin this Saturday afternoon at Darlington Raceway with Corey Heim atop the standings. With seven wins to his credit through the first 18 races, he and the No. 11 Toyota team of Tricon Garage are the statistical favorites.
In addition to his wins, Heim has earned 12 top five finishes and one Pole Award. His nearest competitor in the standings is Layne Riggs with two wins and eight top fives. Chandler Smith also has two wins, with Daniel Hemric and Tyler Ankrum having one each.
The remaining Playoff Drivers are 2024 NCTS Champion Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Rajah Caruth, Kaden Honeycutt and Jake Garcia heading to Darlington with a zero in their respective win columns.
Three Two One Approach
In 2023, Heim finished third in points. Last season, he finished second spending 18 weeks in the runner-up position, 15 of them consecutively. This season, the odds-on-favorite of Heim has been ranked first for 16 weeks, 14 of them in-a-row.
He shared his thoughts on the difference between this season, and year’s past during the recent NCTS Media Day.
“I think the main thing for us is that we’ve really connected a lot of the dots on maybe the prior struggles we’ve had so far and got a lot of things to improve in the Playoffs,” Heim said. “I feel like for me, there was some struggle areas last year that kind of lingered throughout the year and we never quite got past that.
“But, we were able to home in on that in the offseason and sort of clear those up as far as maybe some packages that we brought to specific race tracks that didn’t work Also, maybe some pit road stuff and my personal development as far as my driving style at some places.”
Playoff Picture Challenges
With only seven races to decide the NCTS Championship, Heim said there are plenty of obstacles to overcome to win the coveted crown.
“I mean, for the most part, every race is a challenge,” he offered. “It’s never a layup by any means anywhere you go, especially if you look at the last round. You have a lot of challenging races within the Round of 8. Talladega is kind of the one that sticks out like a sore thumb to everybody. It’s just such an unpredictable race.
“As far as the speed we’ve brought to the race track, I think most, if not all the Playoff tracks fit that for us. But as far as strategizing – especially Talladega but also Martinsville, the Roval – that whole Round of 8. Strategizing that and also just planning for what our plan of attack is for those last few races is going to be big.
“Of course, we’ve got the whole Round of 10 to get through as well, but that round specifically stands out to me as something that we need to really think about, and how to attack that and make sure we’re in the right spot at the right time.”
The Difference Experience Makes
Like any athlete, time and experience aid in their quest for success. Heim pointed out there were some the big changes for him the past three seasons. One notable aspect was going to Tricon after Kyle Busch Motorsports announced it was shutting down.
“For the most part, I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable in understanding what I need out of my Truck on a regular basis,” he said. “I had the 16-race part time schedule in 2022 with KBM and then leading up with TRICON in 2023, I think a lot of us were kind of unsure with where our equipment was with TRICON being new.
“I wouldn’t say a new organization by any means, but with a new manufacturer and kind of rebranded stuff, a lot of uncertainty as far as where we were.”
One certainty for Heim as the NCTS Playoffs start, he heads to the “Lady in Black” of Darlington as this season’s winningest driver and points leader.
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