Trackin’ Trucks: Layne Riggs Wins at Bristol
The almost-three-week NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series break didn’t interrupt Layne Riggs momentum. He brought the same energy that earned him the victory in Wisconsin to earn him back-to back wins of the season at Bristol Motor Soeedway.
Riggs is not playoff eligible nor competing for the 2024 series championship, but that didn’t prevent him from finding victory lane. Riggs took the lead from Corey Heim on Lap 121 and held the lead to the finish during thr UNOH 200 Presented by Ohio Logistics.
“Oh, my gosh, we‘ve just learned so much with the trucks,” said the driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford. “My team, [crew chief] Dylan (Cappello), he‘s bad-ass…”
“To be running fifth, 10th and all of a sudden to go back-to-back in the Playoffs—man, I wish I was in the playoffs so bad. I think we‘d be a real threat to win the championship.”
Heim held on to finish second. The Tricon Garage driver earned enough points at the half-mile track to secure his position in the Round of 8 of the Playoffs. Additionally, Christian Eckes and Nick Sanchez secured their playoff positions on points by finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, on Thursday night.
“Every time we got a heat cycle on the tires, it seemed like we got tighter and tighter,” Heim said. “Just didn‘t quite have it, but solid points day in the Playoffs—that‘s what you need, so I will keep moving forward.”
“I‘m looking forward to my favorite place [Kansas Speedway] next week.”
Matt Crafton finished sixth, Chase Purdy came in seventh, while Ty Majeski, Stewart Friesen, and Tyler Ankrum finished in eighth place through 10th place, respectively.
A Look Ahead (Into The Playoffs)
The Craftsman Truck Series head to Kansas Speedway on Friday, September 27th.
It’s the final race in the Round of 10 for the series championship.
Grant Enfinger and Daniel Dye are battling for the cutoff position, while defending champion Ben Rhodes fell to 10th in the standings after finished in the 27th position at Bristol. Enfinger, Dye, and Rhodes are within less than 15 points of each other heading into Kansas.
Outside of the battle for the cutoff position, Rajah Caruth advanced five positions in the standings with his third-place finish at Bristol.
“We executed the race—just two spots short,” Caruth said as he peeked at Riggs doing burnouts, “Man, I wish that was us.”
The Craftsman Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway will be shown on Fox Sports 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Reviewed by Courtney Horn
on
Saturday, September 21, 2024
Rating:
