Gusty winds and temperatures in the low 40s — with a vicious wind chill in the mid-30s — threw a wrench in the plan for the drivers in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
So did two stoppages because of rain that totaled nearly 75 minutes and forced drivers to get out of their trucks twice.
None of that mattered to Corey Heim.
The driver of the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, who also battled through a pit road speeding penalty, won the Ecosave 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Our pit crew did such a good job getting us back out in front after I made that mistake in Stage 1 where I sped on pit road,” Heim said in his postrace interview with FS1. “This wasn’t exactly what we wanted as far as the weather being cold. I feel like we do a lot better when it’s hot, but it paid off.”
Heim held off a late charge from Grant Enfinger and pressure from teammate Tanner Gray in the final green-flag run to secure the win. Enfinger finished second, 0.825 seconds behind Heim, and Gray was third (2.146 seconds).
“I had to do everything I could there,” said Heim, who started 16th and led a race-high 42 laps. “I was completely wide open at the end, and I did all I could driving out my (rearview mirror).”
Heim won the season opener at Daytona on Feb. 14 after Parker Kligerman was disqualified following postrace inspection.
It’s Heim’s 13th career win in the Truck Series. The 22-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, recently signed a deal to be a developmental driver for Cup Series team 23XI Racing, co-owned by legendary NBA player Michael Jordan.
The speeding penalty early in the race was the first speeding penalty in Heim’s 67 Truck Series starts, according to the FS1 broadcast.
A caution for rain came at lap 25. The race went into a red flag on lap 34, and the stoppage lasted 55 minutes. Ty Majeski won Stage 1 as NASCAR ran the race under caution to complete the stage.
Racing resumed on lap 38 and went on until another red flag for rain came at lap 69. After a 20-minute stoppage, Heim took the lead on the ensuing restart as he made his charge back to the front after the penalty.
While the Truck Series was able to race, the weather ruined some of the action on the LVMS property.
The rain also canceled the High Limit Racing series race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway dirt track. The race was originally scheduled for Thursday, but it was postponed because of high winds.
Kyle Larson is a co-owner of the series. He was set to race in the event with Christopher Bell, who has won the past three NASCAR Cup Series races this season. Corey Day, who won the pole for the Truck Series race and finished 27th, was also scheduled to run at the dirt track after the race at the 1½-mile oval.
The series was scheduled to run two races (Thursday and Saturday) at the dirt track. Saturday’s race is still scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Smith nabs Xfinity pole
Earlier Friday, JR Motorsports had a strong qualifying session for Saturday’s The LiUNA Xfinity Series race.
Sammy Smith won the pole with a lap of 29.435 seconds (183.455 mph). The green flag is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
“I feel really good going into tomorrow,” Smith said. “I think we have to work on our race car just a touch with it going to be hotter and more rubbered down. It’s a good start. I was happy with practice and qualifying, so we just got to keep it up front.”
Smith’s JR Motorsports teammates and Xfinity Series rookies Carson Kvapil (29.502 seconds, 183.038 mph) and Connor Zilisch (29.564, 182.655) will start second and third, respectively.
“I feel like JRM as a whole right now has been very fast everywhere we’ve gone,” Smith said. “Us as a No. 8 team has done a lot of things to kind of boost that a little bit and help our 1½-mile program.”
It’s the third time JR Motorsports has swept the top three qualifying spots for an Xfinity Series race.
Smith is in his second season driving for JR Motorsports and sits fifth in the point standings through the first four races of the season. He finished 11th in the point standings last year and picked up a win at Talladega.
The pole could be a sign of better luck for Smith in Las Vegas. He has one top-10 finish and an average finish of 18.5 in four starts at the track.
“It validates the things we’re doing are right and we’re headed in the right direction,” Smith said.
Contact Alex Wright at [email protected]. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X
