Christian Eckes on confrontation with Corey Heim: 'He's got a right to be mad'
After the conclusion of the Craftsman Truck Series race at IRP, Corey Heim confronted Christian Eckes on pit road. NASCAR pit reporter Mamba Smith caught up with Eckes to talk about the incident.
Christian Eckes and Corey Heim are in a hotly contested battle for the regular season championship. Of course, they are the favorites for the overall championship. Eckes has three wins and Heim has picked up five on the season.
This probably won’t become a bigger issue. Eckes was understanding of Heim after their conversation.
“I mean he’s got a right to be mad, I just misjudged the straightaway,” Eckes explained. “He acted like I went to the wall, but I didn’t. I tried to leave a lane, I just misjudged it on my end. So, I mean, that’s on me I apologize to all the 11 guys but, yeah, I’d probably be mad too.
“But overall proud of the NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet team, I think we were a second-place truck and we finished second tonight. So, good execution on that end and moving on to Richmond.”
What started all of this was a little contact between Christian Eckes and Corey Heim. It was enough to give Heim a flat left front tire on his truck. While it didn’t hurt him in the short run, his truck was not able to hold up in the long green flag run to end the race.
Eckes was P2 on the day, Heim P17. They are still the two best drivers on the season. However, it wouldn’t take much for a Ty Majeski or Grant Enfinger to steal the championship at Phoenix.
Corey Heim confronts Christian Eckes
Corey Heim was upset enough to drive Christian Eckes up the track under caution. The flat left front tire was enough to make Heim pit. He stayed on the lead lap, and even ran up front early on in the run after the contact.
As the race went long, Heim’s truck got worse, likely due to the contact. Heim was frustrated after the race. Eckes said he didn’t do it on purpose, but that doesn’t give Heim a better finish.
For all of the bluster and drama, neither Corey Heim nor Christian Eckes got the last laugh. These two championship favorites both left without a win today at IRP. Both had trucks capable of winning. However, Ty Majeski’s truck ended up being too much to handle in the end.