Kansas Speedway never seems to disappoint. That was no different in Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. With two Cup stars in the field for Spire Motorsports, all the Truck regulars were looking to outclass the Cup stars. Those Cup stars were William Byron and Carson Hocevar. Too bad by the end of the night, it was Hocevar who got the last laugh.
Early dominance from the best driver in the series this season, Corey Heim, wasn’t going to be enough to stop Spire Motorsports from getting to victory lane with their third different driver this season.
Carson Hocevar Outclasses Truck Series Regulars to Win at Kansas
Jake Garcia once again proved to be the fastest in qualifying as he put his No. 13 Ford on the pole for the second time in three races. That didn’t matter much once the green flag waved, as Heim jumped out to the lead quickly. While it was happening, contact happened right at the front of the field, between Hocevar and Ty Majeski.
First yellow is out after Ty Majeski and Carson Hocevar make contact. pic.twitter.com/4uPmZjGLER
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 11, 2025
The caution then flew, because Dawson Sutton spun out with a flat tire trying to come down the pit lane. The only problem from Sutton, NASCAR felt like he brought out the caution on purpose and was then held for two laps.
After the very early yellow, the first stage went pretty clean, as Heim Time reigned supreme. Heim continues to prove why he’s the series’ best driver right now.
Heim Time is starting early at @kansasspeedway!@CoreyHeim_ wins Stage 1. pic.twitter.com/p2PsuQDnjv
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 11, 2025
Rough Night For Top Contenders
Stage two and the rest of the race, for that matter, certainly started to show some tire issues, along with drivers trying to get too much on the pit lane. Not to mention some major issues for top contenders on restarts. The first 15 laps of stage two went green, with Carson Hocevar able to put his No. 7 Chevy ahead of Heim and Grant Enfinger, who started to make a run for the lead.
It was during this stage that Rajah Caruth’s good night started to turn sour. After running at the front most of the first stage, including a second-place finish in that stage. He dropped to 10th in the second stage, while Hocevar and Byron, who were both his teammates in the race, started to show why they race on Sundays.
Stage two took a big turn when the No. 2 Cody Dennison went for a spin on the frontstretch with less than 15 laps to go in the stage.
The yellow is out after the No. 2 takes a spin entering Turn 1. pic.twitter.com/ACXxzGz0Gb
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 11, 2025
It set up a dramatic race to the finish for the stage win. Despite a charge from Layne Riggs, Hocevar was able to score the stage victory. It was just the beginning of a fun battle between Carson and Layne.
.@CarsonHocevar takes Stage 2 at @kansasspeedway! pic.twitter.com/tSvq3Diep4
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 11, 2025
It Wasn’t Heim Time This Week
The final stage looked like it was shaping up to be a fight between Hocevar and Byron, the Cup series regulars, as both started to flex their ability during the final 50-plus laps. It was also starting to look like it was going to come down to green flag pit stops. That completely changed when Frankie Muniz lost control of his No. 33 and spun out, wrecking the green flag stops and mixing the field up more.
Frankie Muniz goes through the grass to bring the yellow out. pic.twitter.com/4CP8HSjz0r
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 11, 2025
The night got bad for the likes of Heim by this point, as he got snagged for changing lanes too early. When asked about it after the race, he didn’t feel he did anything wrong. More or less, saying he just followed the truck in front of him. But the restart rule, when it comes to restarts, is very clear. He pulled out of line before the start-finish line, so NASCAR made the right call.
Corey Heim on the penalty for changing lanes on the restart. His point was he can only see the truck in front of him and followed that truck — and once he realized that truck had changed lanes, he went back into his lane and did not gain an advantage. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/fQevrgChv7
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 11, 2025
Caruth’s night was ruined on the pit lane as he was busted for speeding. It wasn’t a good night for a pair of drivers who have had some strong trucks the last couple of weeks.
Caution Sets Up Exciting Finish
With around 20 laps to go, a three-truck incident brought the field back together. This incident involved Bayley Currey, Chandler Smith, and Connor Mosack. It was certainly not the night for Smith, as unlike his teammate Riggs, Smith’s No. 38 just didn’t have it.
The caution is out after an incident with Bayley Currey, Conor Mosack and Chandler Smith. pic.twitter.com/w6q5jPMtnc
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 11, 2025
The fight was going to be between Riggs and two Cup drivers. Hocevar and Byron were hungry to outclass the Truck regulars, meanwhile, Riggs was looking to prove that he would one day be a Cup driver. Kansas Speedway has proven to be a great place for close finishes, and the fight between Hocevar and Riggs will be remembered. After getting the white flag, the pair made a little contact off of turn two, with both trucks getting sideways.
It sure was like a flashback to the 1979 Daytona 500 finish between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison, except the two didn’t crash. Byron was trying to run them both down, but the contact didn’t slow them down. Hocevar pulled away and held off Riggs to score his fifth-career truck win. It was good, hard racing, but Hocevar sure didn’t care for the incident, as he could be seen flipping Riggs the bird as they crossed the finish line.
A great final lap at @kansasspeedway! pic.twitter.com/bcsQxDxxLE
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 11, 2025
That’s certainly an image that will last a while. Hocevar had a great response after climbing from his truck.
” Ah, I just thought I would make it entertaining,” Hocevar said. “Were you all entertained?”
We were for sure entertained! pic.twitter.com/E8QaBdcW7M
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 11, 2025
Yeah, I think they were entertained. Kansas once again does not disappoint.
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Main Photo: Jamie Squire, Getty Images
Recording Date: 5/10/2025
