“It doesn’t matter how good you’ve been all year”: Corey Heim drops a blistering take on NASCAR playoff system amid dominant 11-win season 

Corey Heim has argued that NASCAR's playoff system devalues consistency and rewards one-race miracles. The Tricon Garage driver has dominated the Truck Series this season with 11 wins, but will enter the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway next week, where all three drivers have an equal chance at the title.

This Friday, Heim led a race-high 77 laps to take the win at the Round of 8 finale race in Martinsville. Meanwhile, defending Truck champion Ty Majeski advanced to the final round with Tyler Ankrum, and the final spot went to Kaden Honeycutt, who edged past Layne Riggs in a tiebreaker after finishing second in the elimination race.

"You can kind of suck all year and bring your best truck to Phoenix and you can win the whole championship. It doesn't matter how good you've been all year. Look at (Majeski, Joe Shear and the Thorsport No. 98), they have not been the best. I don't think they have a win to their name this year but they are probably the truck to beat alongside us next weekend," Corey Heim said (via motorsport.com).

While Majeski has been a consistent contender throughout the season, he has yet to secure a victory. The Thorsports driver collected nine top-5 finishes this season. Ankrum broke a 130-race winless streak with a win at Rockingham Speedway in April this year, but Kaden Honeycutt has also not landed a win this season.

Meanwhile, Heim has 18 top-5s with just two finishes outside the top-20 this season. He has also collected seven poles and 21 stage wins in 24 starts.

"Like we've won 11 races this year. We've proven everything to this point and now all someone has to go do is go into Turn 1 and absolutely wipe you out … and that proves that they're the best driver? That's kind of my main gripe at the end of the day," he added.

Heim also pointed out that in 2023, his team had a consistent average finish but lost their bid for the title after a crash with Carson Hocevar while leading.

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"It's what I signed up for" - Corey Heim on dealing with a system that 'rewards mediocrity'

Corey Heim started the 2024 finale race at Phoenix from second place and led early. However, a pit road misstep during a stage break relegated him to 19th position.

"At the end of the day it's what I signed up for. This what I have to deal with as a NASCAR driver but it just promotes and rewards mediocrity in a sense that no one wants to take risks unless you have playoff points and the guys that are just good at either not getting wrecked or can just finish well in these rounds and sneak into the playoffs," Corey Heim said (via motorsport.com).

Heim also collected 14 top-five finishes and 18 top-10s last season and ended second in the overall standings with 4,035 points, five behind champion Ty Majeski's tally of 4,040.