Another week, another substantial truck for Corey Heim. The Tricon Garage driver once again put his No. 11 Toyota on the pole for the Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200. Martinsville Speedway never fails to disappoint. And this race had plenty of highlights. From Heim showing his strength and winning both stages to a surprise winner in Daniel Hemric.
The weekend’s first race in Martinsville certainly puts much to be desired for the Xfinity and Cup Series races. Man, it just has to be tough to be Heim right now. That’s two races in a row. That’s just how racing goes sometimes.
Daniel Hemric Shocks All As Truck Series Race at Martinsville Gets Physical
It certainly looked like it would be Heim time in Martinsville, Virginia, as he picked up right where he left off at Homestead. Putting his truck in the lead and controlling the race in stage one. An early spit brought caution in the first 50-lap stage. It may have rattled Corey a bit as he made contact with the No. 67 truck.
Race leader @CoreyHeim_ makes contact with the No. 67 truck, and the yellow is out for the first time. pic.twitter.com/u9MoqRO8bN
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) March 29, 2025
After the trucks got going again, Heim was able to lead the rest of the stage and capture the green and white checkered flag. Stage two was shaping up to be another clean run for the No. 11 Truck, and boy, it was a completely green-flag run, with Heim leading all of the laps. It certainly proved hard to tough the No.11 through the first 100-plus laps.
All Heim, all the time!@CoreyHeim_ sweeps the stages at @MartinsvilleSwy. 🧹 pic.twitter.com/Yh6bIhSA4V
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) March 29, 2025
Excitement and Cautions Breed Cautions
Trouble is always brewing at all corners at Martinsville Speedway. The final stage had plenty of heightened drama. Luke Baldwin, the son of famed and notorious crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr, was having a clean night in his NASCAR major series debut. Things got a little hairy on lap 115 as Baldwin got loose in a three-wide fight.
Not a lot of room to go three-wide at @MartinsvilleSwy.
Luke Baldwin goes for a spin on Lap 115. pic.twitter.com/z4Bd0XqHye
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) March 29, 2025
READ MORE: Hendrick Motorsports Ensures Future, Signs 19-Year-old Corey Day
If that wasn’t enough entertainment for the night. It was quickly topped by more problems for several trucks on restarts, as the field continued to get stacked up. This particular incident knocked Corey Day out of the race. As his No. 7 truck got turned around following a major stack-up at the front of the field.
Big stack-up on the restart! 🫣 pic.twitter.com/Jg6FRJBCxN
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) March 29, 2025
That’s Martinsville at its finest. Cautions breed cautions, and as the laps continued to dwindle down, business was picking up. As the race hit the 30-lap to go mark, the dominant truck of Corey Heim saw his night go up in smoke. Contact from the No. 45 of Kaden Honeycutt cut down Heim’s tire and all but wrecked another great shot at a win.
We'll restart with less than 30 to go after this incident involving the No. 11. pic.twitter.com/bAxo6XC6OA
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) March 29, 2025
With Heim out of the picture, some new faces looking for their first Truck wins in Honeycutt and Daniel Hemric alongside the defending Series Champion Ty Majeski were looking to rise to the top. Majeski and Honeycutt hit a road bump with each making contact and spinning out of the lead. As the replay showed, Majeski wheel-hopped and knocked himself and Honeycutt’s No. 45 Chevy out of the way.
The leaders make contact and go around!! 😱 pic.twitter.com/o0G20JR19y
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) March 29, 2025
That gave a huge advantage to the likes of Daniel Hemric and Tyler Ankrum for Bill McAnally Racing. A team that won both Martinsville races in 2024. Those wins helped a lot in what played out in the closing laps of this race.
Trials and Tribulations Pay Off
On a night when some of the Truck Series’ most winningest drivers as of late struggled, Daniel Hemric showed why you can never give up on the Kannapolis, NC native. Hemric, now 34 years old, has had probably one of the craziest NASCAR careers in memory. From the Truck Series to Xfinity to Cup, back down to Xfinity, back to Cup, and now a full-time Truck racer again. It has been a long, hard road for the 2021 Xfinity Series Champion.
His only NASCAR victory before this win was in the 2021 Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix. For a guy that does backflips much like NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards did. Tonight’s backflip had to be the most satisfying.
He's still got it, folks. 👏 pic.twitter.com/sLIrniI8Ig
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) March 29, 2025
This guy has given everything he has to make it work as a NASCAR driver and for it to pay off, especially with how good of a Team Bill McAnally has been since they went full-time Truck Series Racing. I’m not saying he’s a Championship Contender already, but the previous driver of that No. 19 truck was Christian Eckes, and he won plenty of races behind the wheel of that Chevy.
Just enjoy the journey … and the $50k! pic.twitter.com/mf9a7N7m2H
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) March 29, 2025
It has been long and hard, but congratulations go out to Daniel Hemric for getting the win. You earned it.
READ MORE: Kyle Larson Rallies Late to Win Truck Series Race at Homestead
Featured Image Credit: Logan Riely, Getty Images. 3/28/2025
