Update 11:22 pm: After post-race inspection, Corey Heim was disqualified after initially finishing 2nd for having 3 loose lug nuts. Kaden Honeycutt is credited winning stage 1 and Tanner Gray is credited with stage 2.
After a calm first two stages of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, stage three had some cautions disrupt the flow, allowing Nick Sanchez to capture the win.
Despite a late charge from Corey Heim, who led 70 laps, Sanchez was able to hold the lead and captured his second win of the season after winning the opener at Daytona International Speedway.
“We started off bad, we knew it,” Sanchez said to FOX Sports 1 post-race. “It didn’t affect us; we went to work when it mattered most.”
Sanchez also won $50,000 in the first of three races in the Triple Truck Challenge which will continue through the next two races.
“Probably put it in the savings,” Sanchez said when asked by FS1 what he would do with his winnings.
Heim finished second, while Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, and Matt Mills were the rest of the top five.
Ben Rhodes, Jake Garcia, Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Mosack and Dean Thompson completed the top 10.
The race seemed early on to be a battle between TRICON Garage teammates Heim and polesitter Tanner Gray. In both stages after Gray briefly led, Heim flexed his muscles and won both stages.
However, on lap 83 after a caution brought out by Matt Crafton, Heim suffered a slow stop due to a broken jack. Despite some quick thinking by the pit crew, it set Heim back, forcing him to show the true power of his No. 11 Toyota. He quickly made work of the field and drove into the top five.
Kaden Honeycutt was another driver who looked to have a shot at winning the race, but a late caution for Chase Purdy changed things. Honeycutt led the field to pit road where his team had a broken air gun, ending his chances of winning. He still finished in eighth.
Rajah Caruth finished 17th after almost finishing inside the top 10 rebounding after contact early on pit road with Christian Eckes. Eckes finished just outside the top 10 in the 11th position after a chance to win late in the closing laps.
The next race will be next Saturday, June 1 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX at World Wide Technology Raceway.
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