Second straight championship defeat gives Corey Heim extra fuel heading into 2025

For the second season in a row, an outstanding season from Corey Heim ended in disappointment at Phoenix.

A runner-up finish in both Friday's championship race and the Truck Series points standings was set in motion on the race's final restart when eventual race winner and champion Ty Majeski held the lead on the restart and proceeded to take a Sunday drive. 

Majeski ended up stretching his lead to 3.9 seconds over Heim when the checkered flag flew. 

It was a frustrating end to a dominant 2024 campaign for Heim, who won six races and solidified himself as one of NASCAR's top prospects. 

Heim took the lead from Majeski to win Stage 1 but fell to second in Stage Two before a restart violation in Stage 3 relegated him to the back of the field. Several well-timed caution flags got Heim back in the mix, but his truck was no match for Majeski's No. 98. 

"We fired off pretty free in Stage One and were able to reel him (Majeski) back in," Heim said when asked about racing the eventual champ. "He seemed to struggle in traffic a little bit, and once they (the No. 98 team) adjusted on it and the cautions started cycling to the point where we didn't hit a lot of lapped traffic, it was about over for me."