NASCAR Truck Series could be Corey Heim's playground in 2025

Corey Heim will remain in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for at least one more season. 

On Thursday, TRICON Garage announced that Heim will return to the team in 2025, driving the No. 11 Toyota Tundra. The announcement comes the day before Heim is set to compete for the Craftsman Truck Series championship at Phoenix on Friday. 

Over the past two seasons, Heim has arguably been the best driver in the Truck Series. He made the Championship Four a season ago, but 2024 has been the best display of his talent. 

In a year where he also made the first three Cup Series starts of his career, Heim has put together six victories and another Championship Four berth this season, going wheel-to-wheel with fellow championship favorite Christian Eckes throughout the season. 

Heim remaining in the Truck Series is surprising — it confirms he won’t be the driver of 23XI Racing’s third Cup Series entry nor Sam Hunt Racing’s Xfinity Series entry next season — but it’s an opportunity for Heim to have a relatively stress-free campaign before he likely moves up to the Cup Series. 

Eckes, Daniel Dye, Taylor Gray and Nick Sanchez — all of whom are weekly contenders in the Truck Series — are all moving up the Xfinity Series full-time in 2025. That doesn’t mean there won't be plenty of competition left for Heim to tussle with — Ben Rhodes, Tyler Ankrum, Ty Majeski and Layne Riggs, among others, are all outstanding drivers — but a host of talent, including his main rival in Eckes, is leaving the series. 

Whether or not Heim wins the championship on Friday night, he’s all but guaranteed to be the unanimous title favorite going into 2025. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him eclipse his win total from 2024 next season, nor would it be surprising to see him climb into the double digits in victories. 

There’s no rush for the 22-year-old from Marietta, Ga., to climb the NASCAR ladder, and another year in the Truck Series will let him refine his race craft while also presenting more opportunities to chase trophies and a championship.