Search
Close this search box.

Partner

Corey Heim Makes Late-Race Pass on Dominant Christian Eckes to Win at Bristol

share it
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Corey Heim made a late-race move on Christian Eckes Thursday at Bristol to punch his ticket into the final four at Phoenix Raceway, scoring his third win of the season. Photo Credit: Jonathan McCoy, Racing America

Christian Eckes was dominant in Thursday’s UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, sitting on pole and leading 150 of 200 laps. But, at the end of the night, it was regular-season champion Corey Heim who drove under the checkered flag in the lead.

Heim, driving the No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, was able to hound the rear bumper of Eckes, the race leader, throughout the final run of the event, stalking the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver, looking to capitalize on any potential mistake by the No. 19.

The mistake – if you can even call it that – came with five laps remaining in the event, when Eckes hesitated for an instant while lapping Tanner Gray, a teammate to Corey Heim at TRICON Garage.

Although that split-second hesitation didn’t visually cost him much time, allowed Heim to get to the inside of the No. 19 at the entrance to turn three, allowing the Marietta, Georgia-native to clear for the lead.

Despite his best efforts to return to the rear-bumper of Heim, Eckes fell just short, finishing 0.219 seconds behind the No. 11 truck at the end of the race’s scheduled distance.

“This is insane,” said Heim after climbing from his truck. “I feel like I’ve given so many away this year, so to win one at the end like that is so special. Like I said, I feel like I’ve given so many away, but I finally got one back.”

The triumph by Corey Heim marks his third win of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, and the fifth of his career. This victory is special though, as it punches his ticket into the final four, allowing him to compete for a title at Phoenix Raceway.

Grant Enfinger put in an impressive third-place run, despite battling the handling and overall speed of the No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado throughout the evening. Carson Hocevar came home in fourth, with non-playoff driver Taylor Gray earning another top-five finish, in fifth.

Rajah Caruth matched his career-best result in the NASCAR Truck Series with a sixth-place result at the 0.533-mile facility. Ben Rhodes, partnered with Rich Lushes for the first time this season, finished in seventh.

Chase Purdy finished eighth, while Nick Sanchez recovered from starting at the rear of the field to finish in ninth-place. Matt DiBenedetto, who was eliminated from post-season contention at Kansas, finished 10th.

Ty Majeski and Zane Smith were the two playoff-eligible drivers to finish outside the top-10 in Thursday’s UNOH 200, finishing 19th and 24th respectively, after choosing to utilize an alternate strategy of pitting at the end of the race’s second stage.

Leaving Bristol, the playoff-eligible drivers that finished inside the top-four in the race currently occupy the top-four positions on the post-season leaderboard, with Smith, Rhodes, Sanchez, and Majeski sitting anywhere from 14 to 22 points below.

Next for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a trip to Talladega Superspeedway, where things are dramatically unpredictable and could shake up the NASCAR Playoff standings at any moment, with “The Big One”.

Race Results – UNOH 200 at Bristol

Race Results: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series UNOH 200 at Bristol

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Post

Sage Karam will compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series The Loop 110 at the Chicago Street Course for Joey Gase Motorsports
Sage Karam To Compete in Xfinity Street Race With Flood Brothers and Joey Gase Motorsports
Lavar Scott to make NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Dover Motor Speedway with Alpha Prime Racing, and will compete in NASCAR Xfinity race at World Wide Technology Raceway with primary sponsor Foxxtecca.
Lavar Scott to Compete in Two NASCAR Xfinity Races With Alpha Prime
Daniel Suarez and Trackhouse Racing mutually agree to part ways at the end of 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season
Daniel Suarez Will Not Return to Trackhouse Racing in 2026
Steve Newmark exits RFK Racing to take on Director of Athletics role at University of North Carolina
Steve Newmark Exits as President of RFK Racing for UNC Director of Athletics Role
NXS_EL_CHICAGO
Entry List: 2025 NXS The Loop 110 at Chicago Street Course
NCS_EL_CHICAGO
Entry List: 2025 NCS Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course

Join Our Newsletter

Ready to have NASCAR news hand-delivered to your email daily?

Related Article