NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Corey Heim picked up his seventh win of the year at Richmond Raceway last weekend, leaving him two away from tying that division’s single-season record. A handful of drivers have reached the seven-win mark, including Ron Hornaday Jr. and William Byron. Two more, Mike Skinner and Kyle Busch, stand on the eight-victory plateau.
But all alone atop the leaderboard for most wins in a single Truck Series season sits former series champion Greg Biffle.
Biffle made his Truck debut behind the wheel of a Jack Roush-owned No. 50 in 1998 at the age of 28. It seems unusual, given today’s climate where most drivers seem to make their initial starts in a truck around age 18, but it wasn’t all that peculiar at the time. Biffle had been a weekly racing series national champion out of the Pacific Northwest region, and this was one of the doors that had opened for him. Biffle had actually been recommended to Roush by none other than former Cup Series champion and ESPN commentator Benny Parsons.
He nearly pulled off a win in his rookie campaign, leading at the white flag during the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. But fellow rookie Andy Houston gave the Granger Ford a tap and forced his way past, denying Biffle the victory.
Biffle held on to second, a finish he duplicated later in the year at Phoenix Raceway. Despite being shut out of the win column, it was he, not Houston, who won Rookie of the Year with his consistency. He also won four pole positions, a feat that no Truck rookie has matched since.
He was obviously poised to break through in 1999, but no one had any clue what a significant understatement that was. It wasn’t an immediate breakthrough, however, as Biffle finished no better than 10th in the first four events that year before notching a top five in race number five at Martinsville Speedway.
In the sixth round at Memphis Motorsports Park, the stars finally aligned for the Vancouver, Wash., native. Biffle started from the pole and led 74 of the 200 laps en route to victory lane.
A fun fact that warrants a mention here: future Cup champion and occasional Biffle rival Kevin Harvick picked up his best career finish in a truck up to that point, following Biffle to the checkered flag in the runner-up position.
The next four races were modest showings, with finishes ranging from third to 14th. But then Biffle collected his second win at Portland International Raceway, and it kicked off one of the most dominant runs in series history.
Over the next 12 events, Biffle won an astonishing eight times, finishing fourth twice and eighth once in three of the others. Only a 22nd-place hiccup at the Nashville Fairgrounds track kept him looking even remotely beatable.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of it all were the championship implications. He took the points lead after win number six, but his blistering pace still wasn’t enough to distance himself from championship rival Jack Sprague. The turning point was a 120-point penalty handed to Biffle following his ninth and final win of the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that erased all of his advantage, and when he finished 14th the following week, Sprague reclaimed the points lead.
The seesaw battle tilted back in Biffle’s favor when he ran second in the penultimate race at Texas Motor Speedway, but his lead was a mere 21 points going into the final contest in Fontana, Calif.
Biffle started 24th but rallied to seventh place by the time the final checkered flag waved. Unfortunately for the No. 50 driver and team, Sprague won the finale, giving him the title by just eight points. Just as he had when chasing his first win, Biffle redeemed himself the next year, winning five races and scoring 18 top-five finishes to hoist the championship trophy.
Of the nine tracks that Biffle won on in 1999, Heim only had the opportunity to race on four — Richmond, Michigan, IRP and Las Vegas — in 2025, winning at Richmond and Las Vegas. Both the 1999 and 2025 seasons feature 25 Truck races, so it’s a fair comparison. Heim has seven wins with seven races remaining, while Biffle had six wins with seven events to go.
No one has equaled The Biff yet, but who knows, maybe it’s Heim time.
Frank Velat has been an avid follower of NASCAR and other motorsports for over 20 years. He brings a blend of passionate fan and objective author to his work. Frank offers unique perspectives that everyone can relate to, remembering the sport's past all the while embracing its future.
Follow along with @FrankVelat on Twitter.