Layne Riggs wins NASCAR Truck race at IRP in dominant showing

Layne Riggs led 159 of 200 laps in a stunningly dominant showing at Indianapolis Raceway Park. The Front Row Motorsports driver seemed untouchable for most of the race, cruising to the checkered flag.

Corey Day earned a career-best finish of second, while Stewart Friesen managed to hang on to a podium result on older tires in his 200th start. Unfortunately, Friesen was later stripped of his third-place finish when his No. 52 truck failed post-race inspection.

“Oh man, my team — this truck was badass,” said Riggs, who now has four career wins in the NASCAR Truck Series. “It was so great. I was just out front saving my tires at the end, and I was just waiting for a late-race caution. Trying to run the bottom and trying to run the least amount of distance for my tires … Thanks to everybody at Front Row. I’m out of breath. That was a pretty cool celebration. The guys in the fab shop, body shop — I did it for you guys. This thing was really fast and made my job easy today.”

Riggs actually started the final stage in seventh, as the six trucks in front of him stayed out on old tires in a track position gamble. He quickly made his way back to the front, but Corey Heim, who was on the same strategy as Riggs, actually passed him at one point. 

The season-long rivals battled fiercely before Riggs ultimately prevailed, going on to snatch the lead away from Friesen with just over 50 laps to go. The rest of the field (outside of those he was lapping) never saw Riggs again, as he cruised to the checkered flag.

As a result of Friesen’s disqualification, Heim finished third, which was just enough to clinch the regular season championship early. Grant Enfinger finished fourth, Ty Majeski fifth, Chandler Smith sixth, Daniel Hemric seventh, Tyler Ankrum eighth, Ross Chastain ninth, and Rajah Caruth tenth.

Stages 1 and 2

The race got underway with Heim starting from pole position after qualifying was cancelled due to thunderstorms earlier in the day.

The first stage went completely caution-free, which made Riggs’ charge from 11th on the grid even more impressive. He cut a path forward, taking the lead and winning the opening stage of the race.

During the stage break, NASCAR Cup star Chastain had a wheel come off on pit road. His truck actually climbed up over the loose wheel, losing a lap for repairs in the process.

The race remained clean and green throughout most of the second stage, but Josh Reaume slammed the wall at one point, triggering the first natural yellow. Chastain got back on the lead lap via the free pass, while a handful of drivers chose to pit for a fresh set of tires.

This alternate strategy allowed them to scoop up some track position with Friesen benefitting the most, charging all the way up to second. However, he was not able to deny Riggs a sweep of the two stages.

1	L. Riggs Front Row Motorsports	34		Ford	200			4	60
2	C. Day Spire Motorsports	7		Chevrolet	200		1.864	5
3	S. Friesen Halmar Friesen Racing	52		Toyota	200		1.716	5	43
4	C. Heim TRICON Garage	11		Toyota	200		1.883	5	43
5	G. Enfinger CR7 Motorsports	9		Chevrolet	200		0.985	5	46
6	T. Majeski ThorSport Racing	98		Ford	200		0.588	5	44
7	C. Smith Front Row Motorsports	38		Ford	200		2.519	5	44
8	D. Hemric McAnally Hilgemann Racing	19		Chevrolet	200		2.223	5	29
9	T. Ankrum McAnally Hilgemann Racing	18		Chevrolet	200		4.273	5	33
10	R. Chastain Niece Motorsports	44		Chevrolet	200		2.001	6
11	R. Caruth Spire Motorsports	71		Chevrolet	200		0.295	7	30
12	B. Rhodes ThorSport Racing	99		Ford	200		1.521	6	35
13	L. Fenhaus ThorSport Racing	66		Ford	200		4.150	5	26
14	T. Gray TRICON Garage	15		Toyota	200		0.529	5	24
15	K. Honeycutt Niece Motorsports	45		Chevrolet	199		1 Lap	6	27
16	J. Garcia ThorSport Racing	13		Ford	199		0.123	5	21
17	B. Queen Spire Motorsports	07		Chevrolet	199		7.779	5	20
18	C. Mosack McAnally Hilgemann Racing	81		Chevrolet	199		8.745	5	20
19	M. Crafton ThorSport Racing	88		Ford	199		2.401	7	18
20	D. Sutton Rackley W.A.R.	26		Chevrolet	199		1.186	6	17
21	J. Wood McAnally Hilgemann Racing	91		Chevrolet	199		2.559	5	16
22	M. Mills Niece Motorsports	42		Chevrolet	198		1 Lap	6	15
23	A. Pérez de Lara Spire Motorsports	77		Chevrolet	198		11.537	5	14
24	B. Crews TRICON Garage	1		Toyota	198		1.086	5	13
25	S. Boyd Freedom Racing Enterprises	76		Chevrolet	198		1.590	8	12
26	G. Ruggiero TRICON Garage	17		Toyota	198		0.874	5	11
27	T. Breidinger TRICON Garage	5		Toyota	198		5.486	6	10
28	F. Muniz Reaume Brothers Racing	33		Ford	197		1 Lap	4	9
29	G. Van Alst Van Alst Motorsports	35		Chevrolet	194		3 Laps	10	8
30	J. Anderson Young’s Motorsports	20		Chevrolet	194		5.433	10
31	A. Jayson Young’s Motorsports	02		Chevrolet	193		1 Lap	6	6
32	N. Benning Norm Benning Racing	6		Chevrolet	99		94 Laps	13	5	Handling
33	A. J. Waller Reaume Brothers Racing	22		Ford	65		34 Laps	7	4	Accident
34	B. Oliver Mike Harmon Racing	74		Chevrolet	39		26 Laps	7	3	Handling
35	C. Dennison Reaume Brothers Racing	2		Ford	8		31 Laps	3	2	Electrical