The NASCAR weekend at Bristol kicked off to a glorious start on Thursday with 22-year-old Layne Riggs winning the Craftsman Truck Series race. It was his second consecutive victory in the postseason and came on top of his success at the Milwaukee Mile last month. What makes this feat even more interesting is the fact that he isn’t one of the ten playoff-qualified drivers.
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2024 is Riggs’ first full-time season in the series. His average finish rate over the first nine races of the season was 23.33. But by some magic, his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports truck has been exemplary since then. His average finish rate over the next nine races has catapulted to 11.44. This figure is supported by the six top-5 finishes and two wins that he has secured in this stretch.
His win in Bristol helped him set new records in the history books as well. He has become the first full-time driver in series history to win multiple races in the playoffs despite not qualifying for it. This is also the first time that Front Row Motorsports has won consecutive races in the sport. The driver has without a question started making his father, the iconic Scott Riggs, proud.
And it wasn’t by fluke that he managed to win at the short oval. He beat out Christian Eckes and Corey Heim, both championship favorites, to the victory lane despite their attempts at getting the better of him. Eckes, Heim, Rajah Caruth, and Nick Sanchez completed the top five at the end of the evening. Recent hotshot Connor Zilisch led 41 laps before spinning out at the end of Stage 2.
Riggs’ spot-on prediction about winning back-to-back races
Hours before the green flag flew, Riggs took to X and expressed his optimism about what was coming. He wrote, “Got a good feeling about tonight @ItsBristolBaby. Let’s go back to back!” He also heaped praise on his Ford F-150 after practice and mentioned that it was the best truck that he had ever driven.
It wasn’t long after did he capture the checkered flag and sculpted a memory that would live on forever. He told SiriusXM in the victory lane, “It just took a little bit of time for us to figure it all out but we are clicking better than I could ever imagine … Being the playoff spoiler! If only I could have pointed my way into the playoffs we’d be the championship favorites right now for sure!”
The trucks with which he won at Milwaukee Mile and Bristol were the first vehicles built completely in-house by Front Row Motorsports. This is a great matter of pride for Riggs and every other member who has been a part of the effort. The Round of 10 will come to a close at Kansas next weekend.
