Corey Heim finds himself the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship leader through five races but that isn\u2019t exactly the newsworthy part.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the fact that Heim has only participated in three of those races. Of course, he\u2019s won twice and added a fifth-place finish to boot and inherited the championship lead last weekend only after Chandler Smith was disqualified for rear ride height violations at Rockingham.<\/p>\n
Due to rules created during the \u2018win and you\u2019re in\u2019 playoff format era, Heim isn\u2019t even championship eligible right now and would need a waiver from NASCAR to become the de facto championship leader.<\/p>\n
Has Heim considered actually pursuing a second consecutive championship run?<\/p>\n
\u201cNot necessarily, no. I\u2019d never rule it out. Of course, we have another week of thinking about it considering I\u2019m running Bristol and can probably \u2014 if we have a good day there \u2014 maybe extend the lead or at least hold what we got,\u201d Heim told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. \u201cI really only have a couple more scheduled, and it sounds like the wins have helped propel sponsors to want to come on board, and we\u2019re kind of working on a couple more races, not exactly sure when or where yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
But again, never say never.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the championship is in my future unless something changes overnight, which it could. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s in the works by any means but for now, just keeping our schedule together and focusing on the ones we\u2019ve got for now,\u201d Heim said. \u201cMaybe we\u2019ll get some more along the line, but I don\u2019t think a championship is in my sights this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nominal championship leader right now is Kaden Honeycutt, who actually drives the Tricon Garage No. 11 that Heim and crew chief Scott Zipadelli took to the awards banquet in 2025. Heim’s No. 1 truck has Jerame Donley as crew chief. If Heim wins on Friday night at Bristol, he will collect a combined $500,000 for sweeping all three stages of the Triple Truck Challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All told, Heim’s 2026 schedule includes a mix of starts in all three national touring divisions for 23XI Racing, Sam Hunt Racing and Tricon, but also a handful of Late Model Stock races for Nelson Motorsports as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We want your opinion!<\/p>\n
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?<\/p>\n