Corey Heim Stuns Darlington With Last Lap Pass For the Win

Corey Heim won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway on Friday, stealing the win on a daring last-second pass of Ross Chastain. Heim, driving the No. 5 Toyota part-time after his dominant 2025 championship season, delivered Tricon Garage their first win of 2026.

“I just feel like I made kind of all the right moves and it worked out for me,” Heim said. “I definitely thought the No. 45 [of Chastain] would’ve run really shallow into [Turn] 3 to try to air-block me or just take my groove away in general and try to block me. Because if he went low and I was high he could’ve just kind of fenced me. That’s what I would’ve done.”

Leaving Chastain in the Rearview

Friday’s race ended on two consecutive overtime restarts. Ross Chastain, driving the No. 45 Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports, got the jump on both. Even on the backstretch of the final lap, Chastain appeared to have the race clinched. It wasn’t until Heim was already passing him that he realized what was happening.

“I got into [Turn] 3 well and got it planted and touched the gas, and the No. 5 appeared in my window net,” Chastain said after exiting his truck. “I throttled up and slid through the corner and made my best corner. My lap time there at the end was all my truck had. The tire difference was just massive.”

Kaden Honeycutt’s Near Miss

Though he finished fourth, the night’s biggest what-if was Kaden Honeycutt’s brutally close call with victory. After starting from the pole, leading a race-high 59 laps, and winning Stage 2, the 22-year-old appeared poised for his first career Truck Series win. Two restarts later, Honeycutt watched the win slip from his grasp.

After the race, Honeycutt sat in his truck for several moments, processing the loss. “I just couldn’t get going, spun the tires really hard, I did what I could to manage that.” he said. “It is what it is, just people fencing each other and that’s what happens.”

Disaster Strikes Hocevar

Ross Chastain wasn’t the only NASCAR Cup Series regular who had the win within his grasp. Carson Hocevar held the lead with just three laps remaining before losing a tire and slamming the wall. His fierce battle against Chastain nearly led to a defining highlight for Hocevar, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“It was a small leak,” Hocevar said of his issue. “Goodyear’s gonna look at it and see what they had. I mean, it was fun until then.”

The Dominance of Corey Heim

With Friday’s stunning last-lap victory, Corey Heim is now a 24-time winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He’s tied for fifth all-time with Johnny Sauter and just four behind Mike Skinner and Jack Sprague, who co-occupy third place with 28 apiece.

Against all odds, Heim currently sits eighth in the Truck Series standings despite only competing in two of the series’ four races so far this season. 14 different Truck Series drivers who have started all four races in 2026 are below Heim in points. Though he’s part-time and not pursuing the championship, Heim would be in the Chase if it began today.

Race Results