NCTS Race Recap: NC Education Lottery 200

The weather was perfect in Charlotte for the NC Education Lottery 200. NASCAR does Memorial Day Weekend absolutely perfectly every year, and the weekend always begins with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Gio Ruggiero earned the pole in qualifying while his TRICON Garage teammate, Tanner Gray, started outside of him. Corey Heim, another TRICON truck, and Ross Chastain started on the second row. The stage lengths were 30 laps for the first and second stages, with the final stage being 74 laps.

Heim Impressed

Ruggiero blasted off on the drop of the green flag and took the lead before he made it to turn one. Corey Heim pushed his way into second. Gray made a push for the spot but did not have the positioning. Heim jumped to the outside of the leader. Ruggiero picked up some trash on his nose and fell to third before clearing off the debris. Chastain started his charge for the lead. He drove his truck deep into turns three and four, and came out of it in the lead.

Kyle Busch did not wait long before moving into the top ten after starting the race in 12th. Kaden Honeycutt had the opposite luck after starting in fifth and falling to ninth. Honeycutt got into the wall but was able to gather himself and push forward. He found his footing and moved back into the top six.

Heim took the fight back to Chastain. He reeled him in after being about three-tenths of a second behind. Heim used a run on the front stretch to get beside Chastain and make the pass for the lead. He used the clean air to improve his lead by over a second. The field spread out, and Heim caught the back end of it. That only seemed to help the leader grow his lead to over two seconds.

Heim showed his long run speed to get the stage one win! After getting out front, he showed his speed. That was his seventh stage win of the season. Chastain, Layne Riggs, Honeycutt, and Busch rounded out the top five. Ruggiero finished the stage in sixth.

Tick Tock

Heim and Honeycutt brought the field back to green. Busch pushed Honeycutt out into the lead. Heim settled for second. Busch got a push from Chastain to take a peek at the lead, but he did not have enough speed and his run stalled out. Heim used a huge run off turn two to take the lead on the outside into three. Busch gave Chastain a shove into second place.

The top four continued to throw punches at each other. Chastain pushed Honeycutt back into the lead. Heim did not settle and quickly got a run to retake his lead. All the jockeying allowed Riggs and Ty Majeski to catch up to the back of the top four. Heim scampered away from the field. Once again, he used the long run to grow his lead to over two and a half seconds before the stage ended.

Heim was able to let off the gas and coast to the green white checkered flag and get his second stage win of the day! Honeycutt, Busch, Riggs, and Chastain finished the stage to round out the top five.

Heim Time

Honeycutt and Heim restarted the race on the front row. Honeycutt got a great jump to retake the lead. Chastain tried to use the inside line to pass for the lead. Heim split the middle, taking Chastain and Honeycutt three wide. Chastain and Heim drove past Honeycutt to take first and second. Chastain all but cleared for the lead, but Heim used his muscle to get back out in front.

Ruggiero got loose off of turn four and hooked Chandler Smith. Smith collected Ty Majeski as he turned across the track. Majeski had nowhere to go and ran into Smith. That brought out the third caution of the night. Smith and Majeski were forced to go to the garage.

Heim and Chastain restarted on the front row. They both got good launches, but Heim, on the inside line, snagged the lead into turn one. Riggs used the bottom line to drive past Chastain to take second. He set his sights on Heim in the lead. Busch bounced off the wall out of turn four and kept his foot on the gas to pass Chastain for third.

Heim pulled away from Riggs, quickly growing his lead from half a second to over two seconds. Ben Rhodes had to crawl into the pits after an issue with his right front tire. Riggs slipped to fourth behind Busch and Chastain. Heim continued to keep his foot on the gas. Before long, his lead was over five and a half seconds and continued to grow.

Riggs and Honeycutt were the first of the top trucks to pit for tires and fuel. Heim brought the rest of the top drivers to the pits. That gave the lead to Rajah Caruth. All of the contenders got in and out of the pits with no issues.

After Pit Stops

Caruth stayed out as long as he could, waiting for a caution. Heim, who was the leader before the pit cycle, sat in seventh. He was the highest driver who had pitted. With 20 to go in the race, Caruth made his final pit stop. Stewart Friesen took the lead. Timmy Hill was the final driver ahead of Heim to have not pitted. Friesen pitted the very next lap, taking two tires.

Heim reassumed the lead after passing Hill on the track. He set sail to the end with sixteen to go. He had a lead of over five seconds to Chastain in second. Honeycutt drove away from Riggs for the third and fourth positions.

Heim did not slow down and took it to the checkered flag! He got his fifteenth win of his Truck Series career. Heim also swept both stages. Chastain, Honeycutt, Riggs, and Busch rounded out the top five.

Marvin’s Minute:

I have said it every week. Corey Heim is the real deal. With eerily similar stats to Kyle Busch at the beginning of his Truck Series career, Heim has to be a massive favorite to win the championship. Heim is already impressing in his limited Cup Series starts. Chastain and Busch, Cup Series regulars, had nothing for the speed of Heim. Next week, the Truck Series goes to Nashville for the Rackley Roofing 200.