Toyota was more than thrilled with how Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway transpired. Living up to the Toyota 200 name, Toyota drivers occupied the top five positions led by Corey Heim, who secured his second career Truck win after taking the lead from fellow Tundra driver Christian Eckes in overtime.
The Toyotas of Eckes and Ben Rhodes won the first two stage. Chevrolet’s Carson Hocevar and Grant Enfinger, as well as Ford’s Zane Smith prevented the Japanese make from fully dominating as they led laps, but Hocevar would be involved in a horrific accident on the final lap that ended the race under caution: Hocevar had spun before being impacted at race speed by Tyler Hill.
Although Hocevar walked to the ambulance and gave a thumbs up, he was hospitalised for further examination.
“Following the incident on the last lap of today’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at World Wide Technology Raceway, Carson Hocevar was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation of his right lower extremity,” reads a statement from employer Niece Motorsports later in the day. “Additional medical updates will be forthcoming, with no further comment at this time.”
It was not all smooth sailing for Toyota, who lost points leader John Hunter Nemechek to a multi-driver wreck on lap 55, his first retirement of the year. The exit and second-to-last-place finish dropped Nemechek from first to fourth in the standings while Rhodes assumed the lead.
Despite the setback for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Heim held off Eckes and team-mate Chandler Smith to hold the lead when the Hocevar accident occurred, ending the race under caution. The win is Heim’s second after triumphing in Atlanta, and the first for KBM at Gateway since Christopher Bell in 2016.
“For the rest of this year, I’ve found myself in bad spots and really just not been able to finish races so today really helped my mindset of just finishing, being there in the end and just keeping my truck clean,” said Heim. “I felt like out of the whole entire top ten, everyone had damage except for me. It was great for a situation in the end, where we could win the race.”
“It was a great day. I just tried to stay out front and stay out of trouble for the most part. I’ve had my ups and downs this year where I’ve kind of been a little too aggressive and it came back to bite me. I was just trying to stay up front and keep my truck clean in the end and it all paid off. My Tundra TRD Pro was phenomenal. KBM did a great job and I’m proud to be a part of this Toyota 200.”
Stewart Friesen and Johnny Sauter rounded out the Toyota-only top five. Rhodes and Chase Purdy also notched top tens for the manufacturer.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 1 | 51 | Corey Heim | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 2 | 5 | 98 | Christian Eckes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 3 | 4 | 18 | Chandler Smith | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 4 | 3 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 5 | 18 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 6 | 16 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 7 | 36 | 19 | Derek Kraus | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 8 | 15 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 9 | 2 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 165 | Running |
| 10 | 13 | 61 | Chase Purdy | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 11 | 19 | 7 | Rajah Caruth | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 12 | 11 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 13 | 20 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 14 | 25 | 40 | Dean Thompson | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 15 | 26 | 1 | Hailie Deegan | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 165 | Running |
| 16 | 30 | 3 | Jordan Anderson | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 17 | 29 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 18 | 24 | 45 | Lawless Alan | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 19 | 32 | 24 | Jack Wood | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 20 | 22 | 02 | Jesse Little | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 21 | 35 | 30 | Tate Fogleman | On Point Motorsports | Toyota | 165 | Running |
| 22 | 23 | 9 | Blaine Perkins | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 23 | 7 | 91 | Colby Howard | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 165 | Running |
| 24 | 12 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 164 | Accident |
| 25 | 27 | 5 | Tyler Hill | Hill Motorsports | Toyota | 164 | Accident |
| 26 | 28 | 22 | Austin Wayne Self | AM Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | Accident |
| 27 | 33 | 33 | Mason Maggio | Reaume Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | Running |
| 28 | 10 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | Running |
| 29 | 21 | 35 | Jake Garcia | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 161 | Running |
| 30 | 14 | 15 | Tanner Gray | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 156 | Accident |
| 31 | 34 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet | 151 | Electrical |
| 32 | 8 | 66 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 136 | Running |
| 33 | 17 | 44 | Kris Wright | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 93 | Accident |
| 34 | 31 | 46 | Brennan Poole | G2G Racing | Toyota | 77 | Rear Gear |
| 35 | 6 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 57 | DVP |
| 36 | 9 | 17 | Taylor Gray | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 45 | Accident |
| DNQ | 20 | Matt Mills | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet | |||
| DNQ | Justin Carroll | TC Motorsports | Toyota | ||||
| DNQ | 43 | Blake Lothan | Reaume Brothers Racing | Toyoya |