Under the night sky of a hot & humid April evening, the sounds of engines echoed across the rolling farmland of northern Orange County, stirring memories buried deep in the rough asphalt of Orange County Speedway (OCS).
For Layne Riggs, Saturday night in the zMAX CARS Tour at OCS wasn’t just another race. It was a homecoming – a journey back to where it all began.
“He definitely makes me proud,” veteran NASCAR driver Scott Riggs said, the words bringing a smile to his face as he watched his son surrounded by friends and fans.
Pride, history, and a dash of bittersweet nostalgia blanketed the 0.375-mile oval, nestled just on the outskirts of the tiny town of Rougemont, N.C. In a county more widely known for its sprawling farmland, the historic University of North Carolina and the ghostly remains of Occoneechee Speedway, OCS remains a cathedral of speed for those who remember.
For the Riggs family, it is hallowed ground. Scott Riggs was raised just a few country roads away, in the sleepy town of Bahama. It’s where he learned to drive and dream. Eventually, Orange County Speedway is where he learned race. It’s where Layne Riggs grew up, too. Where he first wrapped his small hands around the steering wheel, eyes wide with the kind of wonder only a young racer can feel.
“Coming back to Orange County is like putting on an old pair of shoes,” Scott said, smiling warmly as friends and family flocked around his son’s car. “It’s something that’s familiar to us. Only ten minutes from the house. Every time we come back, it just feels right.”
OCS had seen the story unfold before. Many years after his father, it was Layne’s turn: Winning a track championship, taking the checkered flag in a CARS Tour race at just 15 years old, flashing raw talent that seemed almost preordained.
Now 22, Layne returned during an off-weekend from his full-time schedule in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, a rising star coming home to reconnect with his roots and the people who believed in him first. The stands were filled with old Layne Riggs No. 99 shirts from his past.
“We lived seven miles from here. This is where I grew up,” Layne said before the CARS Tour race at the track on Saturday night. “My first time ever driving a race car was right here. I was 11 years old. … Driving a late model. Now I’m 22, still driving late models. Some things never change.”
Some things, maybe. But everything feels a little heavier now – the stakes a little higher, the memories a little closer to the heart.
Layne didn’t just show up to make laps. He led early, attacked the corners with the same daring spirit that once thrilled this crowd as a boy. When the checkered flag fell, he brought home a fourth-place finish and secured the Heatwave Hot Lap Award for the fastest lap of the night.
“When I took the lead early, man, it brought back so many flashbacks,” Layne said afterward. “Winning here when I was 11, 12 years old. … Some things just don’t change. Same old track, rough as a corncob, still a challenge every single lap. But that’s what makes it fun.”
In the infield, Scott soaked it all in. The roar of the crowd. The dirt under his feet in the infield. The sight of his son carving through the same corners he once conquered.
“He almost puts too much pressure on himself when he comes back here,” Scott said of his son. “He wants to do well for everyone who comes out to support him. But watching him, it’s always good. Always enjoyable.”
The elder Riggs paused for a moment, reflecting, his voice thick with emotion.
“He definitely makes me proud,” Scott said again. “I think it’s something he’s always wanted to do, he’s always had a very strong passion for racing. I feel like he’s naturally more talented than I was. I feel like I had to work at my race craft back in my day. I feel like with his talent, the way he works and the way his work ethic is, he is a lot better than I ever was.”
Underneath the glow of the track lights, Layne Riggs wasn’t just chasing another checkered flag on Saturday night. He was chasing something far more meaningful.
A connection to home. To family. To the track that shaped him.
At Orange County Speedway, on a warm spring night, the Riggs legacy came full circle – not just remembered, but reborn.
