It was chaos at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and no one felt it more than the Sam Hunt Racing driver, Corey Heim. After a strong season, Heim’s race took a gut-wrenching turn in the final moments of the Focused Health 250. Running up front and eyeing the checkered flag, disaster struck when a last-lap tangle with Austin Hill sent the No. 26 into the wall.

In the aftermath of that wild finish, Heim found himself on the outside looking in—so close to victory lane. That late-race contact with Hill didn’t even rob the Marietta, Georgia native of what could’ve been a thrilling win but also left Chandler Smith dissatisfied as the latter had to settle for a P4, only because of his Toyota teammate.

Corey Heim embraces failure at Atlanta

Sam Hunt Racing has been competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2019, racking up 26 top-10s and 11 top-fives, but still chasing that elusive first national series win. Corey Heim, a full-time Truck Series driver for Tricon Garage and part-time Xfinity driver, has made 11 Xfinity starts this season—all with Sam Hunt Racing.

Corey Heim made a bold move, pushing Austin Hill ahead while his teammate Chandler Smith tried to overtake. Heim’s strategy put him in second, eyeing his first Xfinity win. However, when Heim attempted to pass Hill on the outside, he crashed into the wall, ending both his and his teammate Chandler Smith’s chances. Parker Kligerman and A.J. Allmendinger surged past, taking P2 and P3.

Justifying his last lap move, Hiem mentioned in the post-race pit road interview, “I thought it was in my best interest to stay high. We didn’t have a ton of raw speed, but we had great handling, so I wanted to try and get to the top of the 21 just kind of ran me out of room but uh that’s not to say. I wouldn’t have done the exact same thing if I was in his spot you know it’s just part of the super speed racing you have to be aggressive and take advantage of your opportunities just kind of  put ourselves in a really good spot there.”

Fans may remember back in July when Corey Heim clashed with Christian Eckes at Indianapolis during the Truck Series Race as the two battled their way. Remeber the viral dialogue;

“It’s not like I went straight to the wall, Corey,” Eckes said.

“Ah, you pretty much did,” Heim retorted. “I was nosing into the wall, and I jammed the wheel left and I hit you.”

“I was giving you a lane and misjudged it,” Eckes replied.

“[…] by a lot. By half a truck length,” Heim finished before walking away.

After a tense radio exchange, Heim even asked Eckes to give him more “courtesy” when racing.

This was an after-result of what happened at the stage two restart, as Corey Heim and Christian Eckes made contact down the backstretch, cutting Heim’s left front tire and forcing him to pit. A caution was triggered by Conor Daly’s flat tire, not Heim’s, which allowed Heim to get the free pass as the first truck one lap down. Heim rallied to earn stage points but struggled in the final stage, finishing 17th. Meanwhile, Eckes finished runner-up after losing the lead to Ty Majeski late in the race.

Considering the cutthroat competition that exists across motorsports, Corey Heim’s words this time are a delightful reminder of the camaraderie these drivers share. For Heim, it is just another instance of a quick end to a battle from the track. Heim’s teammate, Chandler Smith, however, was not happy at all.

Chandler Smith expects better of Corey Heim

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While Heim took his failure well, it seems his teammate, Chandler Smith, has something to say. Smith hoped to get some aid from Heim in bagging the win. However, Heim instead chose to go for the win himself instead of pushing Smith.

What makes this even worse is Corey Heim’s failed move on Austin Hill pushed him directly into the path of a rapid Smith. In the ensuing chaos, Parker Kligerman and A.J. Allmendinger jumped at the opportunity to move up a few places.

An unhappy Smith lamented his failed gamble on teamwork in the aftermath of the race. He said, “I’m kind of speechless, honestly. There’s a lot of different things I could have done. I could have been more selfish and when I got clear, went to the bottom to cover that and just control the race for sure, but I was trying to be a good teammate, and it didn’t pay off for me today, as usual.”

Atlanta is done and dusted, while Austin Hill, with the win, sits comfortably at No. 2 in the playoff standings, while Hiem’s teammate Chandler Smith is on No. 4 behind the Kiwi, Shane van Gisbergen.

Stay tuned as we bring you more insights going ahead to the Glen.