August 8, 2025 | By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Heim prevails in triple OT at Watkins Glen for sixth Truck win of 2025

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.—NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship leader Corey Heim scored his fourth consecutive road-course victory — the sixth of his career — in a dramatic triple overtime finish as nightfall approached in Friday’s Mission 176 at The Glen at the historic Watkins Glen International.

The 23-year-old Georgia native took the lead on a restart on the first overtime, then held position in his No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota with a pair of masterful restarts on the second and third overtime periods, ultimately holding off former Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric and rookie Gio Ruggiero by 0.202 seconds.

It was Heim’s 17th series win, and he became the youngest driver in series history to claim that total. This was the second time this season he’s won from pole position.

The race on the 2.45-mile historic venue in Upstate New York was relatively calm and clean early on, with only a single extra caution in addition to the first two stage breaks. But a steady barrage of incidents forced six more caution periods and the three overtimes — the race only finishing within a couple of minutes of when NASCAR had pre-determined to call it official because of darkness.

Heim got the jump on the final overtime, but then slowed slightly and wiggled the front end of his Toyota in an effort to get the fuel pick-up. It did the trick, and he was able to go full throttle again, fending off Hemric in the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevy and 19-year-old Ruggiero in the No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota.

“Just never give up,” said Heim, who led a race-high 44 laps but had to rally from 11th place on a Lap 43 restart. “I got behind in that last stage and was scratching and clawing, trying to get back through the field.

“I had my brakes pretty much go out on me completely on that long green-flag run, was beating them up trying to get back through the field — blew the bus stop chicane between turns four and five — and made a lot of mistakes myself. I’ve had a lot of them get away from us this year by cautions or whatever else, finally had one go our way.”

For much of the final regularly scheduled laps, it looked like Cup Series regular Christopher Bell may pull off an emotional victory. The 2017 Truck Series champ was piloting the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota for the team’s owner-driver, Stewart Friesen, who suffered serious injuries in a dirt modified race crash a week ago.

Bell — gambling on a late-race gas-saving strategy — was leading with one lap to go in regulation Friday when a caution came out for a multitruck accident involving former series champion Ben Rhodes. But the multiple overtimes forced Bell to pit for fuel. His rally forward to a fourth-place finish was impressive.

Tyler Ankrum, Xfinity Series regular Sammy Smith, Ty Majeski, Xfinity Series championship leader Connor Zilisch, Matt Mills and Layne Riggs rounded out the top 10.

Rhodes’ accident was indicative of an impactful day in deciding the championship field, with only one more regular-season race now remaining to set the 10-driver field. Friesen had claimed one of the automatic playoff berths, with a win at Michigan International earlier this season, but the serious injuries he suffered last week and missing Friday’s race have potentially opened an extra driver playoff position.

Before the green flag, Ty Majeski and Jake Garcia held a 16-point advantage over Rhodes for the 10th and final points transfer position.

Majeski finished seventh on Friday. Garcia was 15th, and the two-time series champ Rhodes ended up 26th despite claiming the win in Stage 2. Garcia now takes a slim 11-point advantage over Rhodes and 21 points over Ruggiero into the final regular-season race next Saturday night at Richmond.

Friesen can request a medical waiver, and if NASCAR grants it, he would remain in the playoffs — changing the playoff picture yet again.

The Craftsman Truck Series moves to the Richmond Raceway three-quarter miler for next Friday’s regular-season finale, the eero 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Majeski is the defending race winner.

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Craftsman Truck Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Heim as the race winner.



NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race Number 17
Race Results for the Mission 176 at The Glen - Friday, August 8, 2025
Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY - 2.45 - Mile Road

Total Race Length - 81 Laps - 198.45 Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Friday, 8/8/2025 @ 08:10 PM Eastern

Fin Str Trk Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 11 Corey Heim Mobil 1 Toyota 81 1 4 57 Running 3 44 6
2 17 19 Daniel Hemric NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet 81 8  38 Running 1 1
3 5 17 Giovanni Ruggiero # First Auto Group Toyota 81 6  39 Running 1 2
4 2 52 Christopher Bell(i) Halmar International Toyota 81 3 5 0 Running 1 30
5 13 18 Tyler Ankrum LiUNA! Chevrolet 81  9 34 Running  
6 3 7 Sammy Smith(i) TMC Transportation Chevrolet 81  2 0 Running 1 1
7 33 98 Ty Majeski Soda Sense/Curb Records Ford 81  7 34 Running  
8 14 45 Connor Zilisch(i) DQS Solutions & Staffing Chevrolet 81 4  0 Running  
9 25 42 Matt Mills Utilitra/J.F. Electric Chevrolet 81   28 Running  
10 6 34 Layne Riggs Love's RV STOP Ford 81 9  29 Running  
11 16 1 William Sawalich(i) Soundgear Toyota 81 7 3 0 Running  
12 29 62 Wesley Slimp HNTB Toyota 81   25 Running  
13 24 88 Matt Crafton Repel/Menards Ford 81   24 Running  
14 22 26 Dawson Sutton # Rackley Roofing Chevrolet 81   23 Running  
15 15 13 Jake Garcia Quanta Services Ford 81   22 Running  
16 10 81 Connor Mosack # Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Chevrolet 81 10 10 23 Running  
17 19 70 Brent Crews Pristine Auction Toyota 81   20 Running  
18 30 76 Spencer Boyd Freedom Warranty Chevrolet 81   19 Running  
19 31 69 Derek White OCR Gaz bar Ford 81   18 Running  
20 26 56 Timmy Hill UNITS Storage Toyota 81   17 Running  
21 4 77 Andres Perez De Lara # Telcel Chevrolet 81   17 Running  
22 21 66 Chris Buescher(i) Farm Paint Ford 78   0 Running  
23 8 38 Chandler Smith Long John Silver's Ford 77   14 Running  
24 32 9 Grant Enfinger Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet 76   13 Accident  
25 36 22 Gian Buffomante Goodridge Ford 75   12 Running  
26 9 99 Ben Rhodes TSPORTS Trucks Ford 68 5 1 27 Accident 2 3 1
27 34 33 Frankie Muniz # More Core Ford 66   10 Running  
28 12 15 Tanner Gray Place of Hope Toyota 64  6 14 Accident  
29 28 5 Toni Breidinger # Dave & Buster's Toyota 58   8 Engine  
30 7 44 Ross Chastain(i) TrafficSafety.ny.gov Chevrolet 51 2  0 Fuel Pump  
31 18 75 Parker Kligerman Food Country USA Chevrolet 47  8 9 Suspension  
32 20 71 Rajah Caruth HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 36   5 Brakes  
33 23 91 Jack Wood Adaptive One Calipers Chevrolet 35   4 Accident  
34 35 02 Kaden Honeycutt RANDCO Chevrolet 29   3 Drivetrain  
35 27 2 William Lambros Skip Barber Ford 21   2 Suspension  
36 11 07 Kyle Busch(i) Gainbridge Chevrolet 13   0 Steering  

Fastest Lap Bonus:  # 77  lap 47 / 72.761

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 34 Mins, 56 Secs. Average Speed: 76.852 MPH Margin of Victory: .202 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 11, 44, 52, 45, 99, 17, 1, 19, 34, 81
Stage 2 Top 10: 99, 7, 1, 11, 52, 15, 98, 75, 18, 81

Race Comments: Corey Heim won the Mission 176 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International, his 17th NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory. Prior to the green flag, the following cars dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated: Nos. 9, 02, 33, 62 (unapproved adjustments), No. 22 (engine change).

Failed to Qualify: None.

Caution Flags: 9 for 26 laps; Laps: 13-15 (#2 stalled on track [None]); 22-24 (Stage 1 Conclusion [69]); 37-39 (#91 incident turn 2 [69]); 42-44 (Stage 2 Conclusion [62]); 61-63 (Debris turn 7 [76]); 66-68 (#98, 15 incident turn 4 [45]); 70-72 (#99 incident turn 7 [62]); 74-76 (#77 incident innerloop [69]); 78-79 (#9, 81, 98, 13 incident innerloop [56]).

Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers; C. Heim 1-12; G. Ruggiero # 13-14; B. Rhodes 15; C. Heim 16-37; D. Hemric 38; S. Smith(i) 39; B. Rhodes 40-41; C. Bell(i) 42-71; C. Heim 72-81.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: August 15, 2025 - Richmond Raceway

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