Nick Sanchez bests Corey Heim in late battle to win at Charlotte

In a late battle against Corey Heim, Nick Sanchez picked up his second win of the Craftsman Truck Series season at Charlotte. The NASCAR driver just put another win away and also banked $50,000 as part of the Triple Truck Challenge.

Nick Sanchez didn’t lead every lap but he didn’t need to. He just had to be in the right place at the right time. Heim got himself into trouble late on pit road a couple of times and that made his job a lot harder than it needed to be.

Sanchez put himself in position and on the final restart was able to shoot through the field. Two wins on the year and Sanchez looks like a Championship 4 driver.

A $50k burnout 💰🏁 https://t.co/K8OhTo0ex1 pic.twitter.com/0qUsikWikb

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 25, 2024

Corey Heim doing Corey Heim things

Well, won’t you know it, the first stage was dominated by none other than Corey Heim. Despite the fact that Tanner Gray, winner of the ARCA race earlier today, was the pole-sitter, he didn’t have the speed to keep up with the 11.

Heim has proven that he is the most talented driver in the Craftsman Truck Series right now. He is the first overall pick if you will for Toyota if they add another team in the Cup Series for 2025. 23XI and Legacy Motor Club could both be in the market for a third charter.

On the track tonight, it was normal Corey Heim stuff. Tricon gave him an insanely fast truck and he got the most out of it on every single lap of the race from the start to the finish.

Later on in the race, Heim would face troubles. However, early, it was all Heim. No one could touch him in the first stage.

Heim Time in Stage 2

This was a clean sweep for Corey Heim. Both stages went to the 11 team. Once again, not a lot going on during Stage 2. A lot of green flag runs and that played to Heim’s favor as he just drove his truck away from everyone else in clean air.

Other drivers had issues on pit road as well as on the track. Rajah Caruth had an issue that put him in a hole that he had to dig himself out of. Heim is just so consistent and puts down solid laps every week.

Here’s the thing, Christian Eckes, who started in the rear, made his way forward. Other than Heim, Eckes is the one driver you can count on every week to put on a great show. The 19 truck is fast and capable of winning races on a weekly basis as well.

Eckes slowly crept up, Heim kept leading, and this race was about to get a lot more interesting as the final stage approached. It all began when pit stops took place between Stage 2 and the final stretch of the race.

Nick Sanchez picks up the pieces when it falls apart

Before the final stage could go green, there was trouble. Kaden Honeycutt was on pit road and left with his gas can, and gasman, still attached to the truck. He carried the can with him onto the track and was penalized.

Nick Sanchez had a really solid night all night in Charlotte. He just wasn’t leading laps and making a lot of noise. Quiet and patient, Sanchez waited. Through a few caution flags and wrecks in the final stage, Sanchez didn’t get himself in trouble.

Finally, with the race on the line, leaders hadn’t pit for 40+ laps – Sanchez and others did pit. Heim put on tires and got fuel as well. On the final restart, 10 laps to go, those leaders on old tires like Christian Eckes and Rajah Caruth all fell back, and quick.

With trucks passing on both sides and three, four wide racing going on, Nick Sanchez took advantage. He shot himself through a hole and came out on the other end in second place. Then he was quickly taking the lead from Eckes.

From there, Sanchez simply had to hold off Heim. That’s it. Heim had the best truck on the night, but he just didn’t have enough to take the lead. That left Sanchez to drive to the finish line and take the checkered flag.