The 2025 NASCAR Championship weekend kicked off with the Truck Series race at Phoenix Raceway, and it didn’t take long for the drama to unfold. Layne Riggs, who originally earned the pole, was sent to the rear after a pre-race inspection penalty, handing the front row to Chandler Smith. Once the green flag waved, chaos followed.

Dawson Sutton went around early, and Kaden Honeycutt was hit with a penalty for jumping the start. Fans barely had time to settle in before the tone of the night became clear: this was going to be a wild one. But no one could have predicted what happened near the end of the race. A moment that brought the entire race to a halt and reminded everyone how brutal championship night at Phoenix can be.

Chaos erupts late in the NASCAR Championship race at Phoenix

The NASCAR Championship race at Phoenix took a brutal turn on Lap 119 when a massive multi-truck crash brought out the red flag and shook up the entire field. What started as a routine battle for position quickly spiraled into one of the most dramatic wrecks of the Truck Series finale.

It all began when Andrés Pérez de Lara slid entering Turn 3. As a result, Gio Ruggiero, running just behind, had nowhere to go, and his truck clipped the rear bumper of the No. 44, punching him into the SAFER barrier at speed. The incident also caught the No. 45 truck of Bayley Currey, who slammed into de Lara. The impact was violent!

Andrés Pérez de Lara’s truck lifted off the ground for a brief moment before slamming back down, spinning hard, and was destroyed from the nose to the rear. Ben Rhodes also got involved in the chaos. All four trucks (de Lara, Currey, Ruggiero, and Rhodes) suffered terminal damage and were forced to retire from the race. Replays showed just how vicious the crash was. The driver’s onboard camera captured the terrifying moment of impact, as his truck went airborne before sliding down the track in a shower of sparks.

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Fans and commentators alike were left stunned by the “wicked impact” in the NASCAR Championship race at Phoenix, as broadcast analyst Joseph Srigley described it. The red flag was immediately displayed as safety crews rushed to the scene. Debris littered the racing surface, and it took several minutes to clean up the carnage. Thankfully, all drivers were able to climb out of their trucks uninjured.

As the trucks sat idle on pit road, the atmosphere around Phoenix Raceway shifted from excitement to tension. The incident not only ended the night for four strong competitors but also reshuffled the running order and threw late-race strategies into chaos. With the red flag lifted and racing resumed, the NASCAR Championship race at Phoenix now carries an added sense of unpredictability (and danger).

Corey Heim clinches 2025 NASCAR Truck Series Championship

Corey Heim capped off a dream season on Friday night at Phoenix Raceway, clinching the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship spectacularly. The 23-year-old Tricon Garage driver not only claimed his first career title but also delivered what might be the most dominant season in Truck Series history.

Piloting the No. 11 Toyota, Heim outperformed fellow Championship 4 contenders Ty Majeski, Tyler Ankrum, and Kaden Honeycutt, securing his 12th win of the year in the most dramatic way possible: during NASCAR overtime. His 12 victories in 25 starts shattered Greg Biffle’s long-standing record of nine wins in a single season.

Heim was untouchable early, sweeping both stages, but a string of late-race cautions threatened to derail his run. After a late wreck bunched up the field, all four title hopefuls pitted. Yet only Heim gambled on four fresh tires. The move dropped him to 10th with just two laps to go, setting up a nail-biting restart. What followed was a breathtaking charge through the pack, going seven-wide at one point before another caution froze the field with Heim in second.

On the final restart, Heim’s tire strategy paid off. He powered past Majeski and pulled away to seal the deal. “Nobody was going to beat me tonight. It wasn’t going to happen,” he said with emotion after climbing out of his truck. “You can always trust (crew chief) Scott (Zipadelli) up on the box to do everything he can to put me in position to win the race. That’s what he did.”

For Heim, it’s been a steady climb: Championship 4 in 2023, runner-up in 2024, and champion in 2025. His final stats read like a record book – 12 wins, 23 stage victories, 19 top-fives, and 1,627 laps led, all single-season records. Whether he stays in Trucks or steps up to the Xfinity or Cup Series next year, one thing is clear: 2025 will forever be remembered as the year of “Heim Time.”