Racing isn’t just about speed, it’s about survival till you cross the checkered flag. NASCAR history is filled with drivers losing certain victories due to unexpected setbacks.

Take Dale Earnhardt in the 1990 Daytona 500. He dominated all day, leading 155 laps, only for a cut tire on the final lap to hand the win to Derrike Cope. In 2022, Tyler Reddick led 90 laps at Auto Club Speedway before a cut tire ended his chances. Even Denny Hamlin has felt this heartbreak—leading at Pocono in 2010 before a late-race fuel issue ruined his shot.

At Homestead-Miami in 2025, Corey Heim joined this unfortunate list. With an unbeatable truck and a late-race lead, technical gremlins struck. But while Heim suffered, Kyle Larson pounced, proving once again that in NASCAR, no lead is ever truly safe.

As the race neared its end, Larson was three and a half seconds behind Corey Heim, who had dominated most of the event. With five laps to go, Heim’s truck suffered a frustrating power failure, forcing him to cycle the engine and lose valuable time.

Larson, however, had been methodically working his way through the field. When asked about the frantic final laps, he admitted, “I feel like if I would have gotten by Ankrum when I got to him, I still would have caught Corey in time to at least race with him and maybe beat him. But, yeah when that didn’t work out, he had his problem, I still was behind the 34 a good bit but um I felt like it was all going to timeout where I was going to catch him no matter what. So, once I saw 11 having his issue, I was very confident I was going to get by the 34. I was happy to catch him into Turn 1.”

Corey Heim was doing things right throughout the weekend.  Heim had led 78 laps and swept both stages before his mechanical problem derailed his race, proving he was the dominant force throughout the night. Larson himself finished Stages 1 and 2 in second position, behind Heim. It was all thanks to mechanical issues that caused Heim’s truck to sputter and turn off many times and all his work on the track resulted in just P2. It meant that Layne Riggs and Larson could both still pass him without any problems.

Despite Heim’s issues, Larson still had to pass Layne Riggs in the No. 34 truck before sealing the victory. “Without issues his truck is so good, uh and then you same with the 34 so, Layne Riggs, he was uh he was strong as well. So those two definitely are the best trucks out there um and they’re both talented drivers. So it was fun to get to race with them. Thank you,” Larson explained. His strategic positioning allowed him to capitalize on the situation at the perfect moment.

With just 2 laps to go, he set up the overtake on Riggs and grabbed the lead, completing his miracle comeback after the spin with the #34 left him stranded.  While Larson secured the victory, the post-race narrative revolved around Heim’s misfortune. It was a reminder that in NASCAR, even the best trucks and drivers aren’t immune to the sport’s unpredictable nature.

Corey Heim had every reason to believe he was on his way to victory at Homestead-Miami. Leading the race with just a handful of laps remaining, Heim had showcased the raw speed and control that made him a rising star in the NASCAR Truck Series. “I feel like we were lights out, the best truck tonight, think we should’ve won the race by six, seven seconds at the end there,” Heim said. In his own words, Heim summed up his heartbreak with a five-word verdict: “This just stinks pretty bad.” His disappointment was understandable. He had arguably the fastest truck on the track, only to see the win slip away due to something beyond his control.

“The engine would hard cut on me and the dash would go black. I’d have to pull my right hand over and fully recycle the power to get any sort of life back in the motor,” he explained to Hocevar. “So, really don’t know what the problem was to be honest with you. But can’t say enough about the Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Everyone at Tricon Garage and Toyota did a phenomenal job. Probably the best truck I’ve ever had, really. So, this stings pretty bad obviously but nothing I can really have done about it.”

Corey Heim on a streak in 2025

Thanks to his technical issues, Heim was denied a win that should have been his. But was it just a good truck falling prey to technical issues on a fluke run or was it a stop to Heim’s dominance this year? Well, Heim is on something of a roll this year. Homestead-Miami could have been his third win this year, in a season that has already given the driver so much.

So far this year, Heim has had all top-three performances in every race except Atlanta. Last season, he had six wins. This means that the pressure is on Heim again to perform this year, as made clear my the Tricon Garage.

Tricon owner David Gilliand, “Our goal is Phoenix at the end of the year. We’re going to focus on the positives out of here. Obviously, find out what happened and why it happened, and make sure it don’t happen again. Electrical issues are the worst, but I thought Corey held his composure well in the truck. It happened and he drove back up there and still had a chance to win if it wouldn’t have happened again, right? So to me, that’s what we’re working on. That’s what every race before Phoenix is about.”

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