CONCORD, N.C.– Corey Heim may have won in the EcoSave 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, but it wasn’t without chaos from the get-go all the way through to the overtime finish.
A lap 1 pileup that did not bring out a caution in turn 1 hindered a handful of playoff drivers, who had to repair and fight back in the opening race for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Round of 8.
Grant Enfinger misjudged the corner, going in deeper than he should have and sent Layne Riggs spinning and Heim into the barrier.
“I’m embarrassed. I was still driving in the corner– I was clearing myself down,” said Enfinger. “I ruined our day and feel terrible for Layne [Riggs]; Corey [Heim] was able to crawl back and look how he’s looked all year, but I apologize to those guys–lack of execution on my part.”
Riggs had a similar incident on a road course with Enfinger earlier this season.
“Between us and the No. 9, that’s twice this year, both on road courses, both knocked our sway bar loose, here and at Watkins Glen,” he said, reflecting.
“We were going to be ok going into the next race if we didn’t finish where we had. Everyone who did not win this race is separated by 2 or 3 points going into Talladega, of all places.”
Matt Crafton was spun around by Bayley Currey later on and had harsh words for him post-race, though a confrontation in the garage was little more than just a conversation.
“The 45 [Bayley Currey] drove over his head and took us out. He’s an idiot each and every week I watch him race,” said the veteran. “I passed him clean and was ahead of him, and he just cleans me out; then they don’t want to get out and fight like they should.”
Toni Breidinger ran out of gas before the white flag could be taken, forcing overtime. Going into turn 7 on the overtime finish, Ty Majeski made contact with Kaden Honeycutt, who was running fifth along with Connor Zilisch.
“It’s just the nature of this track. We probably shouldn’t have been back there but I was setting up for a pass to get them on the exit and whoever was behind me just didn’t slow down,” said Zilisch. “We’ll learn from it, and I hope to get to run these trucks sometime next year.”
“He [Ty Majeski] cleaned everyone out and I’m just over it. I’m over not having results for this team, for myself,” Honeycutt said about the incident after the race. “We had a top 5 day and finished 14th and thankfully, we are just 4 under the cutline with some races to go.”
Honeycutt also has the weight of another team on his shoulders, driving for Stewart Friesen, trying to win a championship for him.
“I don’t really care for myself at this point. I just want to do the best job for Stewart [Frieson] and this whole team. They deserve it after giving me the opportunity to finish the season out when they certainly didn’t have to.”
With Talladega Superspeedway looming, it’s safe to say this won’t be the last race in the Round of 8 that will cause drama for the Truck series. So far, only Heim has punched his ticket to the finale in the desert.
