19-year-old Gio Ruggiero edges teammate Corey Heim for maiden Truck Series win at Talladega

Gio Ruggiero won his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday. The 19-year-old rookie held off his Tricon Garage teammate, Corey Heim, on the final restart to take the checkered flag.

Ruggiero started the Love's RV Stop 225 at Talladega on pole, his second career first-place start. He concluded stages one and two in ninth and first, respectively, before finding himself alongside Heim on the final restart.

Heim, who holds a historic 10-race win record this year, gave up second place and lined up behind Ruggiero on the choose, allowing them to help each other on the bottom lane. Coming off turn four, Heim tried to take the lead by moving to the inside, but Ruggiero was able to block and secure the win.

Here's a replay of the final lap showdown between the two Toyota teammates.

“Gio Ruggiero gets it done at Talladega. He is a NASCAR Truck Series winner!” Fox: NASCAR wrote on X.

While Gio Ruggiero and Corey Heim posted a 1-2 finish, reigning Truck Series champion Ty Majeski crossed the line in third ahead of Dawson Sutton and Layne Riggs. Meanwhile, their other Tricon Garage teammates, Tanner Gray and Toni Breidinger, finished in 12th and 33rd (DNF), respectively.

Before his full-time stint in the #17 Toyota Tundra, Ruggiero ran several races for the now-defunct Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series in 2024. He also had a few starts in the zMAX CARS Tour and returned a sixth-place finish at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

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“We definitely had the fastest speed”: Gio Ruggiero on #17 Toyota's performance at Talladega

In a post-race interview with Fox, Gio Ruggiero credited his Tricon Garage crew for bringing a fast racecar at Talladega Superspeedway. He argued that his #17 Toyota had the fastest speed through qualifying and the race.

Ruggiero, who led a race-high 37 of the 90 laps, said:

“It feels great. I'm so thankful to be here. Just super thankful for all the guys on the #17 truck. They worked their *ss off, and they definitely brought the best piece today. We showed it in qualifying and there throughout the race. We definitely had the fastest speed.” “Thanks to everybody at Toyota, and everybody who supports me. It's great to win a race with my mom and dad here as well,” he added.

Gio Ruggiero collected the most points at 52. However, he is not part of the NASCAR Truck Series playoffs, with Corey Heim the only Tricon Garage driver to compete for the championship. Following his win at the Charlotte Roval, Heim has already locked himself into the Championship 4, which will be held at Phoenix Raceway.

But first, NASCAR will host 200 laps of racing at Martinsville Speedway next week. The short track race will mark the penultimate event of the 2025 season. So far this year, Ruggiero has recorded one win, seven top-5s, and 11 top-10s. He has also kept his DNF count to just one, which came after clipping the frontstretch grass and crashing into Kaden Honeycutt on lap 31 at Texas Motor Speedway.

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Edited by Zarec Sanchez