Heim Stays Speedy With Sixth Truck Pole Of 2025

Corey Heim took the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole in qualifying Friday afternoon. (Rusty Jarrett/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

LOUDON, N.H. – Despite having no prior experience at New Hampshire Motor Speedway before Friday afternoon, Corey Heim remained the status quo in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

In his debut at the 1.058-mile oval, Heim grabbed the Kennametal Pole Award for the Team EJP 175, turning a lap of 28.946 seconds (131.583 mph) in the No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

It marked Heim’s sixth pole of the season and the 13th of his Truck Series career in his 85th start.

“I really thought our fire-off speed was our strong suit today, so I felt pretty good about qualifying,” said Heim afterward. “It was more the consistent race runs that we were doing that I could have felt a little bit better about, and I really still have that mindset going into tomorrow.

“But being on the pole here, as most drivers know, is a pretty big deal because of how hard it can be to pass,” he added. “I got behind a couple of guys in practice and it was really tough to get by any of them, so starting up front puts us ahead of the game there. We’ve got a bit of work to do to consistently be the best truck in the race, I feel like, but I have high expectations with this group and know we can get the job done.”

Joining Heim on the front row for Saturday’s race will be one of his playoff rival in Front Row Motorsports’ Chandler Smith, who likely needs a win to advance to the second round of the postseason.

Smith’s lap of 29.003 seconds (131.324 mph) in the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford F-150 held up for most of qualifying and was a quarter second better than anyone else until more of the playoff contenders rolled out late in the session.

Defending Truck Series champion Ty Majeski rolls from third alongside Smith’s FRM teammate Layne Riggs, with Heim’s TRICON Garage teammate Tanner Gray qualifying fifth as the best non-playoff driver in the order.

Sixth through 10th on the grid are ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton, TRICON’s Brent Crews, Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie, ThorSport’s Jake Garcia, and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Tyler Ankrum.

Six of the 10 playoff drivers qualified inside the first five rows for Saturday’s Round of 10 finale.

Notables deeper in the field include postseason contenders Rajah Caruth (12th), Daniel Hemric (13th), Kaden Honeycutt (15th), and Grant Enfinger (16th), as well as modified ace Patrick Emerling (22nd), whose Spire Motorsports No. 07 is still alive in the first round of the owner’s championship playoffs.

With 36 trucks entered for 36 starting spots, no one failed to qualify, though three drivers – Tyler Tomassi, Derek White, and Caleb Costner – did not turn a time-trial lap during the session.

Broadcast coverage of Saturday’s Team EJP 175 is slated for noon ET, live on FS1, the NASCAR Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.