Heim wins Daytona Truck Series opener after Kligerman DQ
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When the caution flag flew on the final lap of Friday night's Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Corey Heim thought he had finished second in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener.
Roughly an hour later, Heim was declared the winner of the superspeedway race after the No. 75 Chevrolet of apparent winner Parker Kligerman was disqualified when its ride height was measured as too low.
Surging into the lead in the closing laps of Friday night's Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Kligerman held the top spot on the final circuit when a multicar wreck in Turn 4 forced NASCAR to call the eighth caution of the evening.
But Kligerman's victory celebration was short-lived when his truck failed inspection. The disqualification gave Heim his first victory at Daytona and the 12th of his career.
"Nothing short of crazy there the last 20 laps," Heim said. "Honestly, pretty impressed with everyone that we kept it straight for as long as we did. They piled it up a little bit on the last lap. Compared to last year, it was such a big upgrade as far as the quality of racing.
"Definitely was out of control there at the end, being three-wide middle on old tires, being free."
Heim was thankful for the victory but expressed sympathy for Kligerman's misfortune.
"Well, it's my first time having this kind of scenario happening either way, so certainly glad to be on the right side of it," Heim said. "It sucks for Parker and those guys.
"It seemed like they put themselves in a position at the right time to win the race, but obviously, there is another level to it after the race. Grateful to be in the spot to take advantage of that."
Kligerman's disqualification promoted Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Giovanni Ruggiero to a runner-up finish in his Truck Series debut.
"This is my first time on a superspeedway in anything, so it was a lot of stuff for me to take in tonight, said Ruggiero, who led 11 of the 100 laps. "Drafting in the pack, side-drafting and leading the pack as well, so I definitely learned a lot for Atlanta."
Reigning series champion Ty Majeski was third, followed by Grant Enfinger, who recovered from significant damage to the rear of his No. 9 Chevrolet as well as a pit road speeding penalty.
"We made a lot of leaps today as a team," Majeski said. "This has been a type of racing that has been outside of my comfort zone, so it was good to put some good stages together. We went from the back to the front multiple times, something that we've not been able to do in the past.
"I'm excited about that and I had fun out there for the first time in a speedway race. It's a good way to start defending the championship and a good start to our 2025 season."
Chandler Smith led a race-high 38 laps but was shuffled back in the late going and finished sixth behind Justin Haley. Pole winner Ben Rhodes led 22 circuits but came home 20th after suffering damage in a lap 83 wreck that caused the seventh caution.
Actor-turned-full-time driver Frankie Muniz posted a career-best 10th-place finish in his fifth Truck Series start.
"It was intense," Muniz said of the final two laps. "When I caught them (the lead pack in the draft), you saw everyone moving around, but I was still half throttle. I went to the top; I was trying to push the top, but then I went to the middle, and then the bottom had a run so I went there.
"And thankfully I did, because it helped us get through (the last-lap wreck). The thing about Daytona, I'm not calling it luck, but you don't know what the right move is. I'm just so happy, especially after the year we had last year, when it felt like getting punched in the gut. I feel really good. I am just so ready for next week."
Behind Smith, Daniel Hemric, Jason White, William Sawalich and Muniz completed the top 10. NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell finished 26th in his first Truck Series start since 2009.
