If Layne Riggs felt like he needed to make a statement that the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team is the favorite for the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, then consider it made.
The Bahama, North Carolina-native made it a clean half-dozen victories in 2026 on Saturday, when he beat teammate Chandler Smith for the victory in the Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – his 11th career victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
Riggs, with his performance Saturday, confirmed his position as the No. 1 seed in The Chase for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series championship.
“Statement win, I mean this is awesome,” Riggs said post-race.
“I thought I was off a bit, I thought I was in trouble, Zilisch got by me, Chandler [Smith] got by me, I was just really, really tight and couldn’t get it where I needed it, but my crew chief Dylan Cappello, engineer Johnathan Coates, they made some excellent adjustments there at the end,” he added. “Thank you to my teammate Chandler for racing me clean there at the end, I mean, 1-2 for Front Row Motorsports, it’s in the name.”
Riggs, in a two-lap shootout, was able to beat his teammate, Chandler Smith, to the start-finish line by just under three tenths of a second. It’s the third 1-2 finish in the history of Front Row Motorsports’ NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series program – all three of which have happened on short tracks.
“Let’s bring on The Chase, we only got seven left. No mercy,” Riggs said.
Smith, as previously mentioned, finished in the runner-up spot, with Kaden Honeycutt finishing in third-place. Honeycutt, driving the No. 11 for TRICON Garage, had an incredible recovery on the afternoon, after having a slow leak in a tire in the first stage and falling off the lead-lap and outside the top 30.
Stewart Friesen fought tooth-and-nail to try and make The Chase, but despite a fourth-place finish, came up short. Connor Zilisch, driving a third entry for Spire Motorsports, rounded out the top-five in the running order after winning both stages and leading 55 laps.
Tristan McKee went two-for-two in top-10 finishes in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, finishing in sixth, with Christopher Bell (who recovered from a spin in the final stage) in seventh, Daniel Hemric eighth, Justin Haley ninth, and Parker Eatmon rounding out the top-10.
Tyler Ankrum took the final spot in the 10-driver post-season field by virtue of a 16th-place finish on the afternoon. The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver suffered brake issues throughout much of the race and had to fight hard to keep position on the racetrack. Ankrum advanced by seven points.
The following drivers qualified for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Chase (in order of their seeding): Layne Riggs, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes, Gio Ruggiero, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Daniel Hemric, Ben Rhodes, and Tyler Ankrum.
It’s about four weeks until the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series begins its post-season, with the first of seven Chase events taking place at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 18.
