NASCAR driver disqualified after Truck Series race
Corey Heim initially thought he came up just short of victory in Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Charlotte, but as it turns out, he'll end up as far from a win as you can get.
The 21-year-old driver's second-place finish in the North Carolina Education Lottery was disallowed after post-race inspection, with the reason cited by NASCAR for the disqualification being that three lug nuts on one of Heim's tires were not safe and secure. Rather than finishing second and nearly maximizing his points, Heim will instead be relegated to the 36th spot in the running order, bumping everyone else in the field up a spot.
Thankfully for Heim, he won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of Friday's race, giving him 20 valuable points and ensuring he won't come away empty-handed from a race that he dominated for much of the night.
The culprit for his disqualification was seen in plain view by all who watched the race, as an issue on the left rear tire on the final pit stop left Heim with at least one lug nut missing for the final handful of laps. One missing lugnut only incurs a small fine on the team's crew chief, and thus, fans took little notice of the issue. The missing lug nuts clearly didn't impede Heim's charge to the front, as the No. 11 truck quickly got up to second place before being held off by Nick Sanchez.
In hindsight, it may be a blessing that Heim came up short of the checkered flag, as a win, especially in a race where Heim had to charge from the back of the pack multiple times, would've made Heim's eventual disqualification sting that much more.
Heim will get a chance to redeem himself at the World Wide Technology Raceway next weekend. Heim won at the 1.25-mile track in 2022 but was forced to sit out the 2023 race due to an illness.
More must-reads: