Corey Heim capped a thrilling Saturday at Kansas Speedway with a convincing NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win in the Heart of America 200.
Christopher Bell captures pole for AdventHealth 400, Connor Mosack wins Tide 150
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (May 4, 2024) — Corey Heim capped a thrilling Saturday at Kansas Speedway with a convincing NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win in the Heart of America 200. Heim‘s No. 11 Toyota Tundra led a race-high 79 laps and crossed the finish line more than a second ahead of Zane Smith‘s Chevrolet Silverado.
Heim took the lead from Nick Sanchez on Lap 70 of 134 at Kansas Speedway and stayed out front the rest of the way, gaining time thorough a cycle of green-flag pit stops in the middle of the final stage.
Runner-up Zane Smith, the 2022 series champion running a part-time Truck Series schedule this season, closed on Heim over the final 10 laps but ran was still 1.088 seconds in arrears when Heim crossed the finish line.
The victory was Heim‘s first at Kansas and the seventh of his career. He claimed his first victory of the season on March 23 at the Circuit of the Americas road course in Austin, Texas.
“I can‘t say enough about these guys at TRICON Garage, man,” said Heim, who has finished in the top 10 in all eight Truck Series races this season. “Top to bottom, we executed so well today with the pit crew, everyone back at the shop…
“What a truck! It was free for most of the race, so I can‘t say it was easy. Even with the balance I had, the truck had so much potential to get better. I‘m kind of out of breath now-it was a handful those last 30 laps.”
Earlier in the day, Connor Mosack won the ARCA Menards Series‘ Tide 150. He passed a dominant Tanner Gray with 13 laps left and never looked back to capture his second straight ARCA Menards Series win at Kansas Speedway. Gray led more than 80 laps but couldn‘t hold off Mosack during the final run.
Christopher Bell wins pole for AdventHealth 400
Christopher Bell turned an impressive lap of 29.491 seconds (183.107 mph) in the final round of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Saturday afternoon to win the pole position for Sunday‘s AdventHealth 400. His Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will share the front row with Chevrolet driver Ross Chastain (182.704 mph), whose lap was 0.065 seconds off Bell‘s blistering pace.
The Busch Light Pole Award is Bell‘s first of the season, his third at the 1.5-mile track and the 11th of his career, all coming since NASCAR introduced the Next Gen race car into the Cup Series in 2022. Even as he accepted congratulations for his pole-winning effort, however, Bell already was looking ahead to Sunday‘s race, the series‘ 12th of the season.
“I love the high-speed places, the places where you‘re on the verge of being wide-open or not being wide-open, and the intermediates have been really good for us,” said Bell, who has more poles in the Next Gen era than any other driver.
Bell will lead the field to green flag on Sunday shortly after 2 p.m. in one of the most anticipated NASCAR Cup Series races of the season. Limited tickets remain, so fans are encouraged to secure their tickets now at www.kansasspeedway.com.
About Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a premier motorsports facility in the Midwest. The track, which opened in 2001, hosts two NASCAR Cup Series weekends each year, along with approximately 200 other event days each year. This includes the annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue, the largest barbecue competition in the world which attracts teams both nationally and internationally. The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, which opened in 2012, overlooks Turn 2 of the track. Kansas Speedway‘s two NASCAR weekends in 2024 will take place May 4-5 and Sept. 27-29. Fans can purchase tickets at www.kansasspeedway.com and get all of the latest information by downloading the NASCAR tracks app at www.kansasspeedway.com/nascar-tracks-app.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation‘s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Seriesu2122, NASCAR Xfinity Seriesu2122, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Seriesu2122), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Associationu2122 (IMSAu00ae) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championshipu2122, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 12 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.
For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and Snapchat.
