admin Layne Riggs set the pace early in the rain-delayed NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday, then rallied for a dramatic final-lap pass to claim the track’s iconic “Victory Guitar” trophy in the Allegiance 200.
Riggs, who started sixth on the event’s eighth and final restart with 16 laps to go, passed the defending race winner Rajah Caruth coming off Turn 4 on the next-to-last lap. Riggs got a strong push forward from teammate Chandler Smith to hold the top position and take his second consecutive win, and third of the season, in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford.
After leading all of the opening 90 laps and claiming victories in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the race, Riggs restarted the final stage from the fifth row, losing positions after the competition’s varying pit strategies. His move forward afterward, however, was an exhilarating ending to a long night.
Layne Riggs leads the field during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Allegiance 200.
Ultimately the 23-year North Carolina native and second-generation NASCAR driver took the checkered flag by 0.468 seconds over Caruth, who drove the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Caruth’s car originally was intended to be raced by NASCAR champion driver Kyle Busch, who died at the age of 41 from sepsis last week.
It was an emotional win for Riggs, who dedicated the victory to Busch and an equally emotional outing for Caruth, who honored Busch with his own outstanding run toward the trophy.
Riggs was energized by his triumph at a track where his father, Scott Riggs, won the series’ inaugural truck race back in 2001 and two other NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races (2002 and ’03).
“Not till I passed him and cleared him,” Riggs said of feeling confident in his dramatic comeback. “That’s how you win a NASCAR truck race there, boys and girls. I hope I put on a show for you. I didn’t want to fall back, but I don’t know what happened with that set of tires. It was literally undriveable.
Layne Riggs celebrates in victory lane.
“(Crew chief) Dylan (Capello) made the right adjustments there, got me the tires, got me the motivation and (I) drove to the front,” he said of a late- race pit-stop gamble for an adjustment and new tires with 32 laps remaining.
“So proud of the awesome finish there with the 38 truck (Smith), he gave me the push for the win and good racing there with Chandler tonight,” he added of his teammate, who finished third.
Caruth, who led 44 laps, looked to become only the second driver in history to earn back-to-back wins on the 1.33-mile Nashville oval. The talented and well- liked young driver had the emotional support of millions of NASCAR fans who would have loved to see Busch’s truck return to victory lane.
“I was trying to make this thing as wide as possible,” Caruth said of attempting to hold off Riggs, whose car was on fresher tires. “But that was a great call by Brian. We were strong but starting at the back because of qualifying (being rained out) kind of impacted our night. We got the car really strong there and probably some things I could have done better.
Layne Riggs celebrates with a burnout after winning the race. Photos: AFP
“Glad to give these guys a good result. … Really wanted to get that one obviously for everybody that was at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports), especially KB’s family. Close. I just didn’t close it out.”
“Wanted to get a trophy tonight. So close. But proud of the effort and the team.”
NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain finished fourth in the Niece Motorsports Chevrolet, and he was followed by Tyler Ankrum in the No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevy.
Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger, 2024 Nashville winner Christian Eckes, Gio Ruggiero and Daniel Dye rounded out the top 10.
Riggs, with his victory and a rare laps-down finish for Tricon Garage’s Kaden Honeycutt, took over the championship lead by 37 points over Honeycutt.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to action on June 6 at the Michigan International Speedway 2-mile oval with the DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Friesen is the defending race winner.
Reuters
