NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. – After a challenging start to Layne Riggs’s rookie season for Front Row Motorsports is starting to show promise.
Riggs entered this weekend’s North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Motor Speedway NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race with just one top-10 finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March with a 10th-place result.
An average finish of 23.3 in nine races had the former CARS Tour superstar looking at the historic North Wilkesboro short track as a chance to reset and put his No. 38 Ford F-150 at the front of the field.
Riggs started the Wright Brand 250 from the 23rd position on Saturday afternoon and climbed to a high of 14th before electing for some pit strategy before the end of Stage 1, which kept him in the same position he had started by the green and white checkered finish.
While teams were preparing for the onset of Stage 2, a lighting delay stopped the race. Unfortunately, Mother Nature unleashed biblical-like rain, ultimately forcing the postponement of the 10th race of the Truck Series season until Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
Dry and refreshed, Riggs quickly marched forward throughout Stage 2 and found himself inside the top-10. A strong pit stop and a fast truck allowed Riggs to inch closer to the front of the field, finishing fifth at the end of Stage 2 and putting himself in good track position for the third and final stage.
Throughout the final stage of the race, Riggs remained a factor. Finding himself battling Jake Garcia for control of the lead early in Stage 3, it would later become a game of trying to stay in the clutches of TRICON Garages’ Corey Heim, who blasted through the field and eventually overtook Riggs for position.
As Stage 3 pressed on, Riggs would reclaim the second position with a pass on Garcia. Still, in the final 10 laps of the race, Riggs would have to shift into defensive mode with a hungry group of challengers, including Grant Enfinger, Brenden Queen, and Sammy Smith, all wanting a piece of the runner-up spot.
As the race neared its conclusion, the competition intensified. Despite a valiant effort to defend his second position, Riggs was overtaken by Enfinger in the final five laps. However, Riggs managed to hold off Queen and Smith, securing a career-high third place at the checkered flag.
Riggs matched his career-best finish on Sunday afternoon. He also finished third in a second Halmar Friesen Racing entry last year at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Post-race, Riggs was filled with a mix of emotions. While he was elated with his performance, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment for falling just two positions short of his first career Truck Series victory.
“We did a great job considering no qualifying and we had to start at the back,” said Riggs after the race. “My crew chief did a great job getting some track position and he did his math to realize that we didn’t need to pit for tires. We had a really good truck today.
“I fought really tight at the end, and we pitted so early on in the race that we didn’t really have a chance to adjust it later on, and the track changed, so it definitely got a lot tighter than we thought it was gonna be. It was a great job by everybody from Front Row Motorsports, and thanks to Infinity Communications for being on board, Ford Performance, and this Ford F-150. It was great day for us.”
Riggs said despite the handling on his truck steering towards the tight side in the closing laps, determination helped propel him to his second career Truck Series top-five finish in 16 career starts.
“The truck was really tight, but track position was just worth so much,” Riggs explained. The top groove was so strong. It was hard to make a pass on the bottom, so my short track experience definitely paid off and made the most of it.”
With his second top-10 finish in the books and slowly inching toward the end of the regular season this summer, Riggs saw Sunday’s finish as a good shot in the arm for his team and a finish they desperately needed.
“We really needed this confidence booster. We really needed this run today. We’ve really been in a drought and we just needed a good, solid finish for once,” added Riggs. “We had a third or fourth place truck and we finished third and that’s what we needed to do.
“The pit crew did a good job all day. My crew chief did a good job taking no tires. We really, really deserved this finish, so it’s a great confidence-booster for us.”
Heading to Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway for Friday night’s Triple Truck Challenge, Riggs gained four spots in the championship standings to 17th and sits 61 points in the arrears to Tanner Gray, who occupies the final spot in the Playoffs with six races remaining in the regular season.
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