Layne Riggs rallies to win NASCAR Truck race at Bristol, advances in Playoffs. Photo courtesy of Front Row Motorsports
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NASCAR News: Layne Riggs rallies to win NASCAR Truck race at Bristol

Posted by AR1 staff

Layne Riggs overcame a first-lap spin at Bristol Motor Speedway to win Thursday night’s UNOH 250 Presented by Ohio Logistics, the second race in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Seizing the lead after a restart on Lap 142 of 250, Riggs fended off a fierce challenge from two-time series champion Ben Rhodes to claim his third win of the season, second at Bristol, and fifth of his career.

“You don’t get two mulligans in the Playoffs, and I got two,” said Riggs, who recovered from a 17th-place finish after hitting the wall in the first Playoff race at Darlington on August 30. “Spinning out on the first lap shakes your confidence, but I trust this team, and everyone stepped up.”

The victory secured Riggs a spot in the Round of 8, sparing him the pressure of the September 20 elimination race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Running the final 109 green-flag laps on scuffed qualifying tires after using fresh ones post-spin, Riggs credited his No. 34 Ford team’s preparation. “This win proves we’re contenders,” he said. “Three straight Bristol wins for Front Row Motorsports shows our strength here. I’m thrilled for New Hampshire—I’ve never been, but I already love that track.”

Layne Riggs rallies to win NASCAR Truck race at Bristol, advances in Playoffs. Photo courtesy of Front Row Motorsports

Riggs’ win snapped series leader Corey Heim’s three-race streak, preventing the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota driver from matching Greg Biffle’s record of nine wins in a season. Heim, who led a race-high 122 laps to Riggs’ 110, won Stage 2 but lost ground during a pit stop, restarting third behind Cole Butcher, who stayed out on old tires. Butcher’s slow restart dropped Heim to seventh, and he fought back to finish third.

“The choice on that restart behind the No. 62 [Butcher] was tough,” Heim said. “He spun his tires, and we fell back. It was a track-position race, but the best team won—those guys were lights-out.”

Playoff drivers Ty Majeski and Daniel Hemric finished fourth and fifth, respectively, heading into New Hampshire with solid points cushions. However, Riggs’ teammate Chandler Smith, the spring Bristol winner, struggled with a power steering issue on Lap 32, losing 12 laps during repairs and finishing 10th in the standings, 24 points below the Round of 8 cut line. Pole-sitter Jake Garcia, who earned his first career stage win in Stage 1, lost power on Lap 84, finishing 33rd—three spots behind Smith and 31 laps down—leaving him 14 points below the cut line.

Non-Playoff drivers Tanner Gray, Connor Mosack, Andres Perez de Lara, Corey LaJoie, and Matt Crafton rounded out the top 10.

Results UNOH 250 presented by Ohio Logistics

  1. (7)  Layne Riggs (P), Ford, 250.
  2. (19)  Ben Rhodes, Ford, 250.
  3. (2)  Corey Heim (P), Toyota, 250.
  4. (6)  Ty Majeski (P), Ford, 250.
  5. (11)  Daniel Hemric (P), Chevrolet, 250.
  6. (17)  Tanner Gray, Toyota, 250.
  7. (23)  Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 250.
  8. (16)  Andres Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, 250.
  9. (18)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 250.
  10. (20)  Matt Crafton, Ford, 250.
  11. (5)  Corey Day(i) (P), Chevrolet, 250.
  12. (4)  Kaden Honeycutt (P), Toyota, 250.
  13. (14)  Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 250.
  14. (25)  Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 249.
  15. (10)  Rajah Caruth (P), Chevrolet, 249.
  16. (24)  Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 249.
  17. (12)  Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, 249.
  18. (27)  Conner Jones, Chevrolet, 249.
  19. (13)  Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 249.
  20. (3)  Tyler Ankrum (P), Chevrolet, 249.
  21. (9)  Grant Enfinger (P), Chevrolet, 249.
  22. (22)  Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 249.
  23. (21)  Cole Butcher, Toyota, 248.
  24. (15)  Brent Crews, Toyota, 247.
  25. (26)  Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 245.
  26. (31)  Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, 243.
  27. (33)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 242.
  28. (32)  Josh Reaume, Ford, 241.
  29. (30)  Greg Van Alst, Toyota, 239.
  30. (8)  Chandler Smith (P), Ford, 236.
  31. (29)  Mason Maggio(i), Ford, 232.
  32. (28)  Treyten Lapcevich, Chevrolet, Power Steering, 227.
  33. (1)  Jake Garcia (P), Ford, 219.
  34. (34)  Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Too Slow, 21.
  35. (36)  Caleb Costner, Toyota, Too Slow, 19.
  36. (35)  Clayton Green, Ford, Transmission, 9.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  91.163 mph.

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 27 Mins, 42 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.759 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  4 for 31 laps.

Lead Changes:  5 among 4 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   C. Heim (P) 1-56;J. Garcia (P) 57-70;C. Heim (P) 71-136;C. Butcher 137-140;L. Riggs (P) 141-250.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Corey Heim (P) 2 times for 122 laps; Layne Riggs (P) 1 time for 110 laps; Jake Garcia (P) 1 time for 14 laps; Cole Butcher 1 time for 4 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 13,11,52,18,98,71,7,17,34,45

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,34,98,52,99,17,81,19,7,44