ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Remarkably, even though Corey Heim has competed in just three of the five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races so far this season, he is tied for the series lead after back-to-back victories at Darlington Raceway and Rockingham Speedway.
Circumstances conspired to elevate Heim to the top of the standings. A “perfect” race at “The Rock,” with 76 points scored, certainly helped.
So did the disqualification of fourth-place finisher Chandler Smith for a ride-height infraction. Smith lost the 33 points that would have kept him 15 points ahead of Heim and Black’s Tire 200 runner-up Kaden Honeycutt, Heim’s TRICON Garage teammate.
Heim is the reigning series champion, having won a season-record 12 of last year’s 25 races. Competing in a limited number of events in all three of NASCAR’s national series this year, Heim is not defending his Truck Series title.
Inevitably, though, the subject came up after Friday’s victory left Heim tied for the series lead. Heim would need a waiver from NASCAR to run for the title, and that would present difficulties.
“I don’t know how all that works, honestly,” Heim said after Friday’s race. “I’d have to look into it. I figured we’d have a good points day, sweeping all three stages and everything. That’s pretty cool, but I’d have to figure out how that works and all the specifications and all the requirements to qualify.
“It’d be cool, but I have no plans on running the rest of the year, so we’d have a lot of figuring out to do at that point.”
Heim doesn’t need to strain his brain. TRICON has not applied for a waiver, and NASCAR granting a waiver for races missed because of scheduling choices borders on a pipe dream.
In addition, with the Chase championship format in place this year, a driver granted a waiver for a non-medical or family issue must start the Chase in last place, with 2,000 points. That’s a huge obstacle to overcome.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t diminish Heim’s ability to tie for the series lead after spotting the rest of the competition two races.
