RPW Column: Corey Heim Looking Forward To NASCAR Xfinity Debut Saturday At Dover

Column By: MARTY CZEKALA / RPW – DOVER, DE – Corey Heim is set to go for his NASCAR Xfinity debut this weekend.

He normally drives the Tricon Garage No. 11 ride in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. This weekend, he’ll be racing in the No. 24 for Sam Hunt Racing.

“It does mean a lot for me personally,” Heim said in a media availability Friday. “Growing up watching the Xfinity Series and aspiring to compete in it at a high level one day, this is a great opportunity. With Toyota Racing, I feel like we’ve grown together the past few years with our KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) days and now TRICON and really having a lot of success on our way. Sam Hunt and his racing team have been through a lot this past few years improving their program and their organization, so super proud of the hard work those guys have been putting in and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Heim’s first laps will come in the race though, as practice and qualifying were rained out.

“It’s definitely tough,” Heim explained. “It’s certainly good to get the laps in, but I have run an ARCA car here before a couple of years back, so those laps are definitely vital in getting settled in and really understanding what these cars are like. We’ve been preparing with the simulator with Toyota Racing and TRD, and all of the preparation I’ve been putting in on the sidelines just getting ready for this race.”

Heim has one prior start at Dover, in a 2020 ARCA Menards Series East race, where he finished sixth.

“I think Dover is a big feel track,” Heim stated. “Just understanding where you are at on the race track and where to position yourself to succeed. I feel like it’s not a track that is super technical, but you can definitely put yourself in a bad place at the wrong time and find yourself out of the race quickly. Just kind of understanding the basics around this place and any laps are good laps, even if it is a totally different engine package, as far as the less horsepower with ARCA, or different downforce, etc.”

Heim is coming off his third career Truck win in the rain-shortened race at Martinsville. He is currently fourth in the Truck standings, 71 points behind points leader Ty Majeski.

Heim’s win at Martinsville April 14 was the first for a Tricon regular since 2019 when Tyler Ankrum scored his first career Truck Series. The win was the first Truck win for Tricon, then DGR-Crosley.

“That was huge for us and especially me personally,” Heim said. “It takes some stress off for the year. It is definitely tough moving to a new team, but everyone over at TRICON has been really welcoming me into their new program. They’ve been putting a lot of hard work in the offseason. Moving from three to five trucks has been tough for them and the manufacturer switch and all of the new people walking through the door has been tough for them to get used to, but I feel like they’ve done a great job of staying motivated and staying determined in knowing that first win would come eventually. That first one is always the toughest and I think the rest will follow.”

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Dover Motor Speedway Saturday for the A-Game 200. The green flag flies at 1:30 p.m. ET with television coverage on FS1.