Corey Heim angry with Christian Eckes after contact, runs him up the track under caution

While the two championship favorites, Corey Heim and Christian Eckes raced side-by-side, Heim suffered a flat tire. These two NASCAR drivers are fierce competitors, and Heim didn’t like how Eckes raced him after the restart.

Corey Heim had worked his way up towards the front after a poor qualifying effort. Christian Eckes had been battling Grant Enfinger most of the race for the lead. Eckes was on the inside of Heim coming out of Turn 2 and rubbed his fender.

That contact caused Heim to have a flat left front. So, Heim drove up to Eckes and ran him up the track. These two have been cordial up to this point, Heim didn’t hit Eckes, but let him know he was not happy with him.

Sparks fly at IRP (in more ways than one).

Corey Heim isn't happy with Christian Eckes. pic.twitter.com/7gdYlbU1k0

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Corey Heim has five wins on the season, so not winning this one won’t hurt him too badly. Here’s the thing though, it hasn’t taken him long to get into the top-5 again. This track is so racey, that moving through the field is not as difficult as other short tracks.

Ty Majeski for instance had a pass-through penalty for a restart violation at the end of Stage 1. He has already moved into the P2 position before the end of Stage 2.

For Heim and Majeski, the night is not over despite each having a hiccup along the way. Christian Eckes swept the stages ultimately, but there is a lot of race left tonight. It is anyone’s race to win or lose at this point.

Corey Heim driving angry after Christian Eckes contact

I can’t help but think Corey Heim is driving a little angry now. He used the rest of Stage 2 to put himself in position for this last stage. He is now within arm’s length of the front row as the race gets into the most physical stage of the night.

There have not been a lot of incidents on track. Enough to make it interesting, at the very least. With how intense the regular season championship battle has been this season, you can understand the frustrations from Heim.

Really, I don’t think it was an egregious move from Eckes. He was racing for position and the two trucks made contact. It was enough to cut down a tire, which stinks, but it didn’t end Heim’s night by any means.

Corey Heim might have five wins already, but he wants to add a sixth one. It is going to be a brawl between Eckes and Heim as this race gets down to the final 75 laps.