Kevin Harvick reacts to Corey Heim’s ‘unbelievable’ NASCAR championship-securing move

On the latest episode of the Happy Hour podcast, former NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick reacted to Corey Heim's unbelievable performance in the Craftsman Truck Series finale race. Heim clinched his maiden Truck Series championship title after a heated pit stop moment during the 161-lap race.

The Tricon Garage driver qualified just outside of the top five drivers in sixth place with a best time of 26.77 seconds and a top speed of 134.47 mph. He was 0.06 seconds behind the pole sitter and non-championship qualified driver Layne Riggs. However, Heim recovered quickly and took the lead on lap 22, winning stage one.

Corey Heim had a bit of a heated moment during stage two of the race. While exiting the pits, Ty Majeski took the lead from the #11 Toyota driver. But the 23-year-old took the lead back and won stage two. Following that, Heim made a risky decision and made a pit stop for four tires in the final stage. However, he was able to recover and led 100 laps, taking home the Championship 4 victory.

Reflecting on the #11 Toyota Tundra driver's performance, Kevin Harvick stated [41:46 onward]:

"When you look at the restart that Corey Heim was able to have seven wide on the bottom, unreal. And able to make that pass and come back to win the championship. We talked about it last week. We said if Corey Heim or Connor Zilisch lost the championship, it was going to be a nuclear meltdown from the fans." "Corey Heim saved them on night one with a spectacular move. Great pit call, fastest truck, best driver whatever you want to call it, it worked out. And thank God these guys won the championship. They had just the best year in the history of the Truck Series," Harvick concluded.

Heim crossed the finish line 0.993 seconds ahead of his championship rival, Ty Majeski. Additionally, the Toyota Tundra driver amassed 12 victories, 21 top tens, 19 top fives, and seven pole positions in the 2025 season with no DNFs.

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Corey Heim broke Mike Skinner's record in the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Truck Series driver Corey Heim not only secured his maiden championship title but also broke Mike Skinner's legendary record. In addition to that, Heim set a new record of his own that no driver in three series has achieved so far, adding extra value to his Phoenix victory.

Skinner held the record for leading 1,533 laps, the most by any driver, which he set in 1996. The record remained untouched until the 2025 season, and Heim broke the record during the season finale race. Also, the Tricon Garage driver became the first driver in all three series to lead a lap in every race in a season.

Reflecting on Heim's feat, NASCAR analyst Jeff Gluck took to his X account and wrote:

"Get this: Corey Heim has now completed an incredible feat and led at least one lap in every race. He also just broke Mike Skinner's single-season laps led record (set in 1996)." "Per @NASCARInsights, Heim is the first driver to lead every race in a season for any series in a NASCAR national series," he added.

The Tricon Garage driver was coming close to winning the Truck Series championship in the past two seasons, where he finished fourth and second, respectively. However, in his fifth season in the series, Heim finally became the champion, beating defending champion Ty Majeski.

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Edited by Karan Yadav