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2021 ARCA Mid-Ohio Corey Heim (Credit: Emilee Chinn/ARCA Racing used with permission)

Photo: Emilee Chinn/ARCA Racing used with permission

Corey Heim Ends Ty Gibbs’ Winning Streak, Wins ARCA Race at Pocono

Mark Kristl

As Ty Gibbs sought to tie the all-time ARCA Menards Series winning streak at five, Venturini Motorsports teammates Corey Heim and Chandler Smith worked together and Heim ended up victorious at Pocono Raceway on Friday (June 25). Heim grabbed the lead on wild final restart en route to winning the 2021 General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200.

It’s also Heim’s third win of this year: he also won at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. It is his fourth career win and his first at Pocono, coming in his second ARCA start there.

“I think it was a lot for my team,” Heim told FOX Sports 1 in victory lane. “I doubted myself a little bit when we got in that slump, but this JBL Camry was phenomenal today. I dedicate this one to [crew chief] Shannon Rursch. He hit that balance perfectly on that last stop; tried to do the best I could for feedback. He hit it right on the dot. Awesome, I’m so happy to be here.”

After Gibbs and Smith led the majority of the race, Heim became the leader following a chaotic restart where Gibbs blocked Smith almost the whole way down to the pit wall on the frontstretch.

Gibbs chalked the contact by Smith as hard racing, despite failing to repeat as the ARCA winner at Pocono.

Gibbs finished second after posting the fastest times in both practice sessions and winning the pole earlier.

Gibbs, Smith and Heim all fought for the lead on the final restart after Jack Wood and Jason Kitzmiller crashed.

Venturini driver Drew Dollar finished third.

Nick Sanchez finished fourth, his fourth straight top-five finish and sixth straight top-10 finish.

Thad Moffitt was fifth after making a spectacular save in the race.

It’s Moffitt’s seventh straight top-10 finish and his first career top 10 at Pocono, as he remains third in the point standings.

Smith finished two laps down in 12th place after receiving damage to his No. 25 Toyota, a result of his daring attempt on the final restart.

The other expected contender was Sam Mayer. Mayer made his first ARCA start with Bret Holmes Racing, less than two days before he debuts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports. Mayer was a non-factor in the beginning of the race, later suffering damage to his No. 23 Chevrolet. After his team made quick repairs to his car, he drove back to rejoin the field. Unfortunately, his race prematurely ended with a blown engine.

Bret Holmes Racing crew chief Shane Huffman termed the DNF as “pretty frustrating,” with Mayer finishing 22nd after completing only 19 of the 80 laps in the race.

See also
Sam Mayer, Others Frustrated as Debris Ruins Day at Pocono

Following Heim’s win at The Tricky Triangle, he unofficially leads Gibbs by three points. Moffitt, Sanchez and Dollar round out the top five in the points.

ARCA Pocono Results

The next race for these ARCA drivers is at Elko Speedway. The track didn’t host ARCA last year after series officials realigned the schedule due to COVID-19 protocols. The shortest track on the ARCA schedule, the 0.375-mile short track in Elko New Market, MN will host the series on Saturday, July 10. The Menards 250 will begin at 10 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by MAVTV and also will be broadcast live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

About the author

Frontstretch.com
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Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.

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