The NASCAR Truck Series has concluded and we have Ty Majeski as the 2024 champion! The ThorSport Racing star doesn’t fail to impress, only in his third full season in the Truck Series, this was his second championship 4 appearance (the first was in 2022). However, entering the Phoenix race, Majeski wasn’t the top contender to win. Many had thought it to be a battle between the two winningest drivers of the season Christian Eckes (4) and Corey Heim (3).

However, yet again, Phoenix wasn’t kind to Heim. The #11 driver, after starting second, was poised to bag the title this year after he was denied it last season. When Carson Hocevar spun him mid-race and the Tricon garage driver ended his season in P4. While his finish this season has bettered, he is still disappointed in missing out as frustration rose in the final stages as he battled penalties and, according to him, sub-par trucks.

Corey Heim is left disappointed after an upset at Phoenix

Heim started in P2 and stayed in the top 5 for the most part of the race. However, it started to go downhill in the final stage of the race when he was slammed with a restart penalty. On the restart, Heim jumped the line before crossing the start-finish line, and the penalty dropped into the rear of the pack in the 20th position. However, navigating through the traffic and thanks to two cautions, Heim was quick to climb back to the top 5 and then held the P2 position.

However, Majeski’s truck was too fast for Heim to catch him ending the race and the season in P2. Christian Eckes ended in P3 and Grant Enfinger in P4 as the season concludes. A P2 would have been celebratory any other day but not on the big day. Naturally, the #11 was disappointed as he talked about the race in his interview. He said, “Obviously the penalty was brutal at first but we were able to tear away through it and get back to third in like two restarts. It did not do much damage, maybe a little bit to the tires. But when you are two-tenths off the 98 you need more than a little bad tire to make it work.”

Probably what frustrated Heim more than a P2 was the Trucks that he had to pass climbing back up after the penalty. According to him, while he did not name any, some trucks are just slow throughout the season and act as obstacles in the races. “Just guys that should not be in the Truck Series, they are just in the way every week all year. These aren’t fast trucks and are just in the way,” Corey Heim added while navigating the traffic.

Regardless of the penalty and the slower trucks, Ty Majeski outclassed all the championship contestants by leading 132 laps out of the 150. In fact, he beat Heim by nearly four seconds, which speaks highly of his run, especially when it was such a crucial one. Even, Majeski confessed to that, he said, “[Majeski] was probably two-tenths better than me a lap me pushing 100%. Then the unfortunate part is I feel like our Tundra TRD Pro is really good. We were probably two-tenths better than the guys behind us.”

While he missed out this year, he has another one to bag a title as recently renewed his contract with Tricon for the 2025 Truck Series season.

Corey Heim will continue his fight for a Truck championship

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Until recently, it was being rumored that Heim will join the 23XI Racing lineup in the Cup as they plan to expand to three cars. He also made his Cup debut this year with them driving in the recent Nashville race, unfortunately, he got a DNF in the race. However, his future plans became clear after Kevin Ray, general manager of Tricon Garage made this announcement – “We’re extremely fortunate to get another year with Corey. His dedication to not only the No. 11 team but the entire organization has elevated Tricon beyond measure in our team’s short history. While we’re looking forward to 2025, our priority remains on closing out this season with a victory and our program’s first championship.” 

This would be Heim’s fourth full season in the Truck Series and his 3rd with Tricon Garage. The Georgia native debuted in the Truck Series in 2021 with Kyle Busch Motorsports and also went to drive a full season for the team in 2022. His first win also came with KBM when he won the Atlanta race. However, he had the most success with Tricon bagging 9 wins in two years. This is the reason why it was a no brainer for him to continue with them amidst other offers.

On this Heim said, “There’s always options on the table, but I never had a doubt that my development with Toyota Racing has led me to where I am today, and it’ll get me through the future as well. So, it wasn’t a hard decision..“From an emotional standpoint, I feel like we’re always very consistent.” Hopefully, Heim can produce the same magic as this season in 2025 as well and this time finish the job. What do you think of Heim’s chances next year? Let us know in the comments below.