WINCHESTER, Ind. — Over the last 60 or so circuits of Saturday night’s 200-lap race at Winchester Speedway, Ty Gibbs, running second, barely let more than a car length come between himself and Corey Heim.
The race leader had his hands full with the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in his rear-view mirror.
This situation lasted until lap 198, when Heim, fighting through lapped traffic, slowed just enough for Gibbs to get to his rear bumper.
Gibbs turned Heim and, after an overtime restart, went on to win the Calypso Lemonade 200.
The 18-year-old ARCA Menards Series points leader now has seven wins in 2021. The victory Saturday night at the high-banked half mile extended his championship standings lead to seven points over Heim.
“We were really close (to Heim) for, I don’t know … a (long) time,” said Gibbs. “(Heim’s) 20 got into (Thad Moffitt’s) No. 46. The 20’s entry to turn one was really slow. I don’t know if they had issues with their car; it looked like he was free.
“And then right when he got into that 46, the 46 just checked up, and I hit him and drove through him. It’s just hard-fought racing.”
Asked about the incident with Gibbs, Heim could only think about his first opportunity to potentially exact revenge.
Ty Gibbs celebrates with a burnout after winning the Calypso Lemonade 200 for the ARCA Menards Series at Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Ind., on July 31, 2021. (Emilee Chinn/ARCA Racing)
“All I’ve got to say is I could not be more excited for Watkins Glen,” Heim said. “We haven’t spun the 18 out a single time or anything, but we just took it up a notch, so I’m really excited for Watkins Glen.”
Heim crossed the finish line third behind second-place finisher Greg Van Alst, who set a new career high with his podium run at his home track.
Moffitt finished fourth ahead of Taylor Gray in fifth.