Corey Heim Conquers Watkins Glen in Overtime Chaos to Notch Sixth Win of 2025

It’s official, Corey Heim refuses to be just your average driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. After a triple overtime feature at Watkins Glen International, Heim notched his sixth win of the season and 17th career victory in solid, dramatic fashion. And no, this wasn’t your typical “start at the pole, cruise for laps, and claim the win” kind of race. This one brought the fireworks, pit-stop drama, and enough overtime restarts to make you question reality.

Let’s set the stage. With the clock ticking towards the 8:05 p.m. darkness cut-off, Heim made it Heim-Time by snatching the lead from Christopher Bell in the closing laps and holding off a relentless Daniel Hemric. Spoiler alert? Heim’s brakes were almost toast, but he still clawed his way to the top. “Never give up,” Heim said in a post-race interview.

Spoken like a driver who spent the last stage battling brake issues while desperately making up ground. Ax that. He blew past expectations, even with mistakes like overshooting the bus stop. “I feel like we’ve had a lot of them get away from us this year, but we finally had one go our way,” Corey Heim admitted. Finally? Dude, with six wins, you’re officially the Truck Series Thanos.

Stage 1 Drama and Mechanical Mayhem

The race started off relatively tame, but things heated up quicker than expected. Corey Heim won Stage 1 after flexing his pole position advantage, holding off veteran drivers Ross Chastain and Christopher Bell. Meanwhile, the mechanical woes got busy early. Kyle Busch? Yeah, he probably wished he were elsewhere after a broken steering box sent him packing in dead last.

Kaden Honeycutt wasn’t much luckier, exiting with issues before most people even settled into their seats. William Lambros earned the spotlight briefly by triggering the first caution when his truck stalled on track. While some rolled the dice and stayed out during the pit window, Heim stayed consistent, dunking on the field for the stage win. Chastain played the solid wingman in second, but the real fun was yet to come.

Stage 2 Escalates Into Madness

Stage 2 arrived, and it was just as intense, if not more so, than stage 1 . Ross Chastain grabbed the early lead from Heim, and their battle got so close you’d think it was choreographed. Spoiler alert? Chastain eventually bested him, only for chaos to ensue. Multiple cautions, including a dramatic wreck by Jack Wood into the guardrails, punctuated the stage-ending antics.

The cherry on top? Frankie Muniz had a minor brake-locking catastrophe resulting in a multi-truck spin-fest. If that’s not peak NASCAR, what is? When the dust settled, Ben Rhodes snagged the stage win, with Sammy Smith and William Sawalich flashing solid performances.

The Triple Overtime Finale

Now for the main event. First, Christopher Bell played the “gamble on fuel strategy” card, taking over the lead in the third stage. But Corey Heim wasn’t done. Not only did he face brake issues and banged-up confidence, but racing gods weren’t making it easy either. Tanner Gray had a savage brush with the wall, triggering yet another caution, but Heim hung in there.

Then came overtime. Bell, running on fumes, had to pit during a wreck-fest involving Connor Mosack and Andres Perez De Lara. Mosack’s second spin added insult to overtime injury, but Heim used every restart to his advantage. When the dust cleared in the third overtime showdown, there was Heim crossing the finish line. Fuel barely in the tank, nerves hanging by a thread, but hey, a win is a win.

What’s Different About Corey Heim in 2025?

Look, Corey Heim isn’t here to mess around. “This year, we’ve cleaned up some of the mistakes we made last year,” Heim reflected. That sounds modest until you realize his “cleaned-up” version still involves clawing through chaos and outmaneuvering trucks like a chess grandmaster playing speed rounds.

The win at Watkins Glen confirms what a lot of us already knew. Corey Heim isn’t just gearing up for a championship; he’s sprinting towards it like it owes him money. With just one regular-season race left and a playoff berth locked in, Heim’s already positioned himself as the favorite. The word “dominant” doesn’t even cut it anymore.

Final Thoughts

The takeaway? Whether it’s brakes failing, rivals snapping at his heels, or unpredictable chaos at every corner, Corey Heim’s 2025 season is shaping up to be the stuff of legends. With performances like this, it’s hard not to think he’s the real deal.