Corey Heim did not have a good run at Phoenix last year. While quite a few things seemed to go wrong for him on track, it was a major late-race incident with Carson Hocevar that got him penalized. 120 laps down, Heim got a bump on his car and this sent his car spinning. Hocevar ended up bumping him and it seemed as though this had completely put Heim off the track. Things started going downhill when Heim came back for revenge.

27 laps later, Heim ended up bumping Hocevar’s truck just at the tail end of Stage 2. But delving into ample collected data from the radio recordings, it seemed as though Heim had committed a member rule violation and had caused this incident as a retaliation to what Hocevar did. Heim was deducted 25 points and fined $12,500 for the title-deciding collision against Carson Hocevar during the race. This year at Phoenix, Heim seems to have a more mature outlook towards the championship race.

Learning from past mistakes and working on them

Now that Heim is again back at Phoenix it seems as though he is all set to let go of what happened in the past and learn from his mistakes. He said, “I feel like maybe it was in the beginning of a year just like looking back at and what not, but you know, have become pretty comfortable with what happened and understanding that. I’ve grown from that situation and taken a lot away from it. 

Corey Heim was putting together a great drive at Phoenix, finishing 2nd in stage 1 and winning stage 2. Although he ended up finishing P18 after his altercation with Hocevar, his learning from the race is positive. “I feel like I put such a good race together last year before the moment that you know it’s easy to go back and kind of look what did so well up to that point. So just understanding how well prepared for the race and what I did to make myself successful and sort of doing the same thing plus some more this year hopefully to make me a little better is definitely the goal.”

Dwelling on frustration can never be the answer, and this time, as Heim hits the Phoenix tracks, he seems to be much more calm and under control of his emotions. Heim has had a stellar season so far with six wins to his name along with thirteen top-5 finishes and an average finish of 7.4. The 22-year-old will look to capitalize on his most successful truck series campaign yet by winning the championship. If things go well, it is also rumored that the 2025 season might see him being a part of team 23XI Racing and participating full-time. 

Meet the Top 4 contenders at Phoenix Raceway for the Truck Series

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The Truck Series finale takes place this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The championship 4 comprises Corey Heim, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, and Christian Eckes. Ty Majeski has put together a strong season with 2 wins and thirteen top-10  finishes. Following Majeski is none other than Grant Enfinger who is the current points leader and closed the season with two wins along with four top 10s for this season.

And finally, we have the much-debated Christian Eckes who seems to be riddled with controversies for the 2024 season. Eckes did put through a strong performance this season and took the regular season championship. However, Eckes’ dirty move on Taylor Gray could potentially see him with a target on his back entering Phoenix. With the level of chaos in the sport right now, everyone just wants a clean final race to round off a rollercoaster season. Who is your pick for victory at the Truck Series?