MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Cory Heim will return to Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 51 Tundra TRD Pro for 15 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races this coming season.
JBL, the authority in engineering superior sound, returns to KBM for an eighth season and will be the primary sponsor on Heim’s Toyota for 10 races.
Heim will be in the No. 51 for the Truck Series season opening event at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway Feb. 18 and will also compete in the final eight races on the schedule. The remainder of his schedule will be announced at a later date.
Crew chief Mardy Lindley is set to return for his second season atop the pit box for the No. 51 team.
“Coming up through the Toyota Racing Development program not only have I looked up to Kyle as a driver but I’ve also watched him build KBM into an organization that provides up-and-coming drivers with all the tools that they need to win races and compete for championships,” Heim started, “so I’m super grateful for the opportunity to compete for an owner’s championship alongside him in the No. 51 Tundra TRD Pro in 2022.
“I was able to get JBL to victory lane three times in the ARCA Menards Series this year and I know that with Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) atop the pit box and the team I have around me that I can get them to victory lane again this year in the Camping World Truck Series.”
Heim made three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts for KBM this past year, with a best result of 11th at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in October. The Georgia driver had an impressive Truck Series debut at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May, where he led two laps, finished stage two in the runner-up position and was running second when he got spun on a restart with just under 30 laps remaining.
The 19-year-old driver finished second to Ty Gibbs in this past year’s ARCA Menards Series championship standings.
Heim produced six wins, three poles, 406 laps led, 16 top five finishes and 20 top 10 finishes and an average finish of 3.1 across 20 starts in the ARCA Menards Series.
In total, Heim has seven wins, 503 laps led, 26 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 4.2 across 36 career ARCA Menards Series starts.
“Corey proved that he is capable of running up front and winning races in the ARCA Menards Series last season and we feel that he is very deserving of the opportunity for an expanded schedule with KBM next year,” Busch said. “Without any practice or qualifying he was able to step right in and run well enough in his Truck Series races this year and we feel that once he is able to get behind the wheel on a more consistent basis that he is someone that will be able to compete for wins.
“He has a great relationship with Mardy (Lindley, crew chief) and they’ve already been putting in a lot of work in the offseason to make sure that they get our long-time sponsor JBL back to victory lane and put the No. 51 in the hunt for the owner’s championship again next year.”