Corey Heim is only competing part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this season, just as he's doing in the Cup Series. But the fact that he did indeed declare for Truck Series points before the season started, has already won two races, spent time as the points leader, and is still third in the standings, despite having run only two-thirds of the races so far this year, has led to a debate.
That debate, of course, is whether or not he should be eligible for the playoffs as a part-time driver, a debate that really isn't a debate because NASCAR doesn't allow part-time drivers to compete for the championship.
While logic would suggest that Heim would be more than deserving of a playoff spot if he finishes the regular season in the top 10 in the point standings without running every race, the fact is that he is still a part-time driver, and having a part-time driver occupy a playoff position with no guarantee of running the entire postseason is understandably not something that NASCAR wants.
Corey Heim replacement confirmed for Texas
Additionally, while Heim is expected to run more races for Tricon Garage, the team with which he recorded a historic 12-win championship-winning season a year ago, none of those races have been confirmed, and this weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway won't be one of them.
Heim's fourth start of the season, a DNF at Bristol Motor Speedway, was his third in the No. 1 Toyota, and he is set to be replaced this weekend by Brandon Jones, who runs full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and has yet to make a Truck Series start this year. Jones made seven appearances for Tricon Garage, his first seven appearances in the series since 2020, a year ago.
Jones recorded three top 10 finishes in those seven starts, and all came in his final three starts of the year. His best result was a fourth place finish at Pocono Raceway. He also competed at Texas a year ago but was knocked out in an early crash.
As for Heim, he is set to make his third Cup Series start of the year behind the wheel of the No. 67 Toyota at Texas this weekend. After leading several laps of the season-opening Daytona 500, he returned to the series and finished 15th at Kansas Speedway two weekends ago, giving the Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned team four cars in the top 15.
Friday night's SpeedyCash.com 250 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Texas Motor Speedway beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action from the Fort Worth, Texas oval!
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