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Despite Record-Breaking Season, Corey Heim Wary of Format Pitfalls Heading Into the Playoffs

Originally posted on The SportsRush
By Gowtham Ramalingam | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 9:09 AM ET

Corey Heim is the hottest property in the Craftsman Truck Series right now. The 23-year-old driver has repeatedly struck gold throughout the season and now stands at the gates of the playoffs with a 62-point advantage over the elimination line. This cushion is thanks to the seven regular-season races he won and the other impressive record-breaking stats he posted.

The lad has broken almost every record imaginable in the show and rewritten the rules for the better. But even at this glorious moment in time, Heim isn’t willing to let things get to his head. He knows and understands how the game has been set up with the current playoff format. Everything that he has won so far can be as easily lost if he starts getting complacent in the slightest bit.

Heim was asked in a recent interview if the 62-point lead gave him comfort going into the postseason. He responded, “In a way, yeah, but I think with the playoff format and the way that everything is structured, things can turn sideways pretty quick, so I feel like you can never get too comfortable.”

Heim continued to point out that if his team faces a part failure or a DNF, they could be in a bad spot pretty quickly.

Corey Heim starts the @NASCAR_Trucks playoffs with a 62 point advantage over the cut line. He said today that there’s comfort “in a way” knowing his points surplus alone could get him to Phoenix, “But with the playoff format and the way that everything is structured, things can… pic.twitter.com/1isiLZW4VO

— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) August 19, 2025

“I feel like our mindset as far as our #11 crew and the organization with TRICON is to prepare to the best of our ability in the same way that we have for most of the races this year and just to really hone in on everything, if not elevate everything, to make sure that we can not have any failures or anything crazy like that,” Heim underlined. That’s a strong awareness of reality.

What records did Heim break in 2025?

Before Heim won seven races in the regular season of the ongoing season, the most wins any driver had at the same stage was five. It was William Byron who last won seven races in a Craftsman Truck Series season (2016). Heim has scored 847 points so far, beating the previous benchmark of 829.

He heads into the postseason with 264 stage points, beating the previous best of 253 points. From the number of stage wins to playoff points, Heim has bettered his predecessors and fellow competitors in every metric there is. This dominance is what leads to him being considered the favorite to win the championship this year.

Notably, he made it to the Championship 4 in 2023 and 2024. He finished fourth in 2023 and second in 2024. Hopefully, this will be the year when Heim finally hits the bullseye.

This article first appeared on The SportsRush and was syndicated with permission.

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