“The 11 truck is in his own zip code most weekends.” Chandler Smith’s heartwarming salute has no dearth of evidence to back it up. Indeed, Corey Heim, driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota, has been on a thunderous roll in the 2025 NASCAR Truck season. From clinching seven race trophies to dominating the playoffs with a 62-point advantage over the elimination line, Heim has knocked on the door of brilliance many times. Nevertheless, the uncertainty of the playoffs remains.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs embark on a 7-race battle for the title with this weekend’s Darlington race. All of the 10 championship hopefuls, including Corey Heim, are talented drivers hungry to prove themselves. Hence, the 23-year-old Toyota phenom is carefully measuring his chances.

Corey Heim is drawing a blueprint

Well, there aren’t a lot of weaknesses for Corey Heim this season. The last time another driver won seven races during the regular season was William Byron’s trophy haul in 2016. Heim has scored 847 points so far, beating the previous benchmark of 829. What is more, the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota has led 1,125 laps on the year, which is nearly double his previous single-season total and almost 900 more than anyone else in the series. Nevertheless, past memories linger in fans’ minds – Heim previously only finished third (2023) and runner-up (2024) in the last two seasons. Those lost championship runs were due to slip-ups at specific tracks. So Heim is targeting specific venues on his list.

The 2025 Craftsman Truck Series regular season champion was part of a recent episode of NASCAR Live. Corey Heim divulged his excitement for Darlington Raceway. Across his four starts at the egg-shaped oval, Heim recorded a best finish of 8th place in 2023, and also had a DNF in 2024. Hence, Heim is aiming solidly to win this time: “Darlington is a very good racetrack for us in the past, and it also fits our success this year…in our intermediate downforce style program. So definitely excited for that one; it’s kind of one of the few on the short list of races that I should have won or had the speed in prior years, but just haven’t quite gotten that win yet. That stuff is high on my win list. I’m excited to go there.”

The second racetrack that came to Corey Heim‘s mind was New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In 2024, he had a three-race Xfinity tenure under Sam Hunt Racing, recording a jaw-dropping 3rd-place finish in Iowa. In New Hampshire, Heim netted a top ten finish – despite this good result, Heim is nervous about his Truck race at the same venue. He said, “There’s some uncertainty in a lot of them like New Hampshire. In the Truck Series field, I was fortunate to race there with Sam Hunt Racing last year. Feel like I sort of got a leg up on those guys in that place, too.” Overall, he gave his verdict, “So I think it’s all good things going into the Round of 10.”

Corey Heim is clearly hyper-focused on his 2025 championship hopes. While analyzing his chances, he has also analyzed the series’ progress.

The rowdiness quotient is lower

Among Corey Heim’s previous title runs, the 2023 championship race was probably the most memorable. During the title race in Phoenix, Heim was tightly locked in battle with rival Carson Hocevar. The latter contacted Heim’s left-rear quarter panel on lap 220, spinning both Heim and Stewart Friesen. A wild exchange of blows on each other’s trucks followed. It ended with Heim sending both trucks into the wall and collecting Heim’s Tricon Garage teammate, Taylor Gray. This ended both of the rivals’ title runs – Heim led for 46 laps, while Hocevar led for none. This wild fallout still stings the Toyota driver to this day, as he reflected recently.

Granted, Corey Heim has faced conflict in 2025. For example, there was a last-lap clash with Layne Riggs in North Wilkesboro. However, nothing compares to the previous years, peppered with multiple aggressive events. Heim said, “I’ve had my run-ins with people this year, but nothing super egregious. I feel like in 2023, there were a lot of maybe penalties that should’ve been handed out and penalties that were handed out. I’m looking at myself here in the mirror, and that’s one of them. I’m not excused from the craziness of that year by any means. But I feel like overall the aggression is more coordinated, I guess.”

Evidently, Corey Heim is making the most of this relatively peaceful season. Hopefully, it will work out for him by the end – let’s wait and see if Heim can fetch that crown this time.