Heim Scorches Richmond Pavement For Another Truck Pole

Corey Heim earned the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole at Richmond Raceway. (Rusty Jarrett/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

RICHMOND, Va. – To no one’s surprise, Corey Heim was automatic again in Kennametal Pole Qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Friday at Richmond Raceway.

Despite a scorching afternoon in the Commonwealth, Heim made his mark as the final truck to take time, unseating defending series champion Ty Majeski with a lap of 23.095 seconds (116.908 mph) in the No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

Heim, who clinched the regular-season championship a week ago at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l, earned his fifth pole of the season, the 12th of his Truck Series career, and his first at the three-quarter-mile Richmond oval.

“This definitely hasn’t been my best racetrack in the past, but with the prep(aration) on the Cup side as well, I’ve put a lot of work into this place,” said Heim, who will also run Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race with 23XI Racing.

Corey Heim in action Friday afternoon at Richmond Raceway. (Wyatt Tinsley/Motorsports Hotspot photo)

“It hasn’t been my friend in the past, but this weekend, so far so good,” he added. “I felt like our short-run speed was the best of our group in practice, and that paid off in qualifying as well. It’s tough to tell what the track will do when the sun goes down … but we’re going to do the best we can to maintain track position and adapt, and that will be the test in order to be up front at the end.”

Majeski will join Heim on the front row after a time of 23.177 seconds (116.495 mph). The Seymour, Wis., native and short-track ace is seeking his first victory of the season, somewhat similar to the situation he was in a year ago prior to his late title surge with ThorSport Racing.

“This will be just about trying to get the right feel in the truck,” said Majeski. “I feel like we’ve had that for the past three years here, so it’s about trying to replicate that amid the track transitioning from daytime to nighttime. It’s really hot out right now, and lap times are three to four tenths slower than normal, but we’ll have a completely different track tonight and I think there will be a lot more room to move around.

“Excited for it.”

Layne Riggs rolls off third for Front Row Motorsports (23.296/115.900), with

Spire Motorsports all-star and NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Sammy Smith completed the ‘Fast Five’, followed by Chandler Smith, three-time series champion Matt Crafton, Jake Garcia, the returning Christian Eckes, and Daniel Hemric.

In his first start as the interim driver for the injured Stewart Friesen at Halmar Friesen Racing, Kaden Honeycutt qualified 11th in the familiar blue-and-red No. 52 Toyota.

Other notables deeper in the lineup include Connor Mosack (14th), Tyler Ankrum (16th), two-time titlist Ben Rhodes (17th), Rajah Caruth (21st), and Corey LaJoie (26th).

A right-rear hub issue discovered after practice prevented top rookie contender Gio Ruggiero from making a qualifying attempt. He’ll start from the rear of the field and need to make up 21 points to the playoff cut line in order to qualify for the postseason.

Garcia holds the 10th and final playoff spot entering the race, with Rhodes 11 points back in between Garcia and Ruggiero.

Broadcast coverage of Friday night’s eero 250 from Richmond airs at 7:30 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.