The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series may have shifted gears into the playoffs, but Saturday night at Darlington Raceway it was still “Heim Time.”
Corey Heim pulled away on a late restart to win the Sober or Slammer 200, the playoff opener at the treacherous 1.366-mile “Lady in Black.” Heim’s victory marked his eighth win of the season, just one shy of Greg Biffle’s 1999 record for most wins in a single Truck Series campaign. The triumph was also Heim’s first at Darlington and the 19th of his career, locking him into the Round of 8.
“This feels like a dream,” Heim said after climbing from his No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota. “Eight wins this year is phenomenal. It’s great to look back on, but we’ve also got so much to look forward to.”
Tire Troubles Shake Up the Field
The race turned on a pivotal moment at the end of Stage 2, when Heim discovered a right-front tire slowly losing air. He managed to nurse his truck to the break, pitted, and avoided disaster.
“Lucky it wasn’t a complete blowout — otherwise we would have been in trouble,” Heim admitted.
Stage 2 winner Layne Riggs wasn’t as fortunate. Riggs led a race-high 71 laps, but a cut right-front tire sent him into the wall just before a caution with 19 laps to go. Riggs fell to 17th, a bitter disappointment after controlling much of the race.
Heim, who led 65 laps, capitalized on Riggs’ misfortune. Restarting up front with 13 to go, he quickly pulled away from Daniel Hemric, who finished second.
Playoff Picture Shifts
The playoff battle saw major swings at Darlington. Defending champion Ty Majeski rebounded from a flat tire to finish fourth, while veteran Grant Enfinger earned a steady third-place result.
Trevor Bayne, making his first NASCAR start since 2023, impressed with a fifth-place finish. Rounding out the top 10 were rookie Tanner Gray, playoff contender Tyler Ankrum, Timmy Hill, Corey Day, and Jake Garcia.
But for Chandler Smith, the night ended early. After leading the first 10 laps from the front row, Smith slapped the outside wall on Lap 11, shredding his tire and ending his race after just 14 circuits. The 30th-place finish dropped him two points below the cutline.
“I just got a little too greedy running the fence,” Smith said. “It suckers you in, you cut a tire, and you’re done.”
Kaden Honeycutt also lost ground after a mid-race crash, falling seven points under the elimination line.
Meanwhile, Hemric’s runner-up finish gave him a 33-point cushion, keeping him well above the bubble. “That was our cleanest race of the season,” Hemric said.
What’s Next
With Heim locked into the Round of 8, the Truck Series playoff field now heads to Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, Sept. 11 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the second race of the opening round.
Post-race inspection at Darlington concluded without issue, officially confirming Heim’s victory.
Darlington Truck Series Results
August 30, 2025
|
POSITION
|
START
|
LED
|
BEHIND
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
C. Heim #11
|
3
|
65
|
Winner
|
|
2 |
D. Hemric #19
|
7
|
0
|
0.766
|
|
3 |
G. Enfinger #9
|
4
|
1
|
2.593
|
|
4 |
T. Majeski #98
|
8
|
0
|
3.214
|
|
5 |
T. Bayne #1
|
16
|
0
|
4.671
|
|
6 |
T. Gray #15
|
12
|
0
|
6.022
|
|
7 |
T. Ankrum #18
|
10
|
0
|
7.542
|
|
8 |
T. Hill #56
|
23
|
0
|
8.182
|
|
9 |
C. Day #7
|
15
|
0
|
8.200
|
|
10 |
J. Garcia #13
|
13
|
0
|
8.831
|
|
11 |
B. Rhodes #99
|
21
|
0
|
9.419
|
|
12 |
R. Caruth #71
|
11
|
0
|
11.268
|
|
13 |
C. Mosack #81
|
14
|
0
|
11.667
|
|
14 |
J. Wood #91
|
25
|
0
|
11.863
|
|
15 |
S. Parsons #20
|
24
|
0
|
12.687
|
|
16 |
A. Perez De Lara #44
|
20
|
0
|
13.647
|
|
17 |
L. Riggs #34
|
1
|
71
|
14.025
|
|
18 |
K. Honeycutt #52
|
5
|
0
|
18.681
|
|
19 |
D. Sutton #26
|
19
|
0
|
21.019
|
|
20 |
C. LaJoie #77
|
9
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
21 |
M. Crafton #88
|
22
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
22 |
G. Ruggiero #17
|
6
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
|
23 |
S. Boyd #76
|
26
|
0
|
2 Laps
|
|
24 |
T. Breidinger #5
|
29
|
0
|
4 Laps
|
|
25 |
B. Currey #45
|
17
|
0
|
7 Laps
|
|
26 |
M. Maggio #4
|
27
|
0
|
19 Laps
|
|
27 |
N. Byrd #02
|
28
|
0
|
34 Laps
|
|
28 |
C. Costner #74
|
30
|
0
|
122 Laps
|
|
29 |
M. Mills #42
|
18
|
0
|
126 Laps
|
|
30 |
C. Smith #38
|
2
|
10
|
133 Laps
|
|
31 |
S. Mallozzi #2
|
32
|
0
|
143 Laps
|
|
32 |
C. Green #2
|
31
|
0
|
144 Laps
|
