Layne Riggs Rallies to Top-5 Finish, Retains Points Lead

As the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points leader, Layne Riggs and his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team kept the objective simple for what they called a “wild card-style race”: finish in the top five in both stages and in the race. The team checked two of those three boxes, ultimately finishing fourth in the race at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, June 6.

The one slip-up? Well, it might not have been of their own doing. 

A flat left-front tire forced the points leader to make an unscheduled visit to pit road in stage two. That issue trapped Riggs a lap down until the start of the final stage.

“The splitter is not there anymore,” Riggs said, looking at the left-front of his truck where the splitter rubbed off. “Flat left-front tire at Michigan when you have to go a mile and a half to get back to your pit stall will do that.”

Riggs said his truck was loose at the start of the race, and he recalled getting into a few bad situations in the opening stage where he finished fifth.

“We got the balance close to where it needed to be, and then we had the flat left-front,” Riggs added.

The No. 34 crew initially ran to the right side of the car, but once Riggs stopped in the stall, the team had to run back round to the left side to change the flat tire. After taking the wave-around, a two-tire strategy call put Riggs back near the front where he was able to stay for the rest of the race.

“It was a blue-collar day I think they call it,” Riggs said. “We didn’t get the second stage points, but we got the rest of it.”

For a truck that started out loose, Riggs said the splitter damage caused it to turn “nuclear tight” after the pit stop. The team was done pitting for the day, however, so Riggs had no option to get any more adjustments made. Instead, Riggs worked with his teammate Chadler Smith – who also made a strategy play – to hold on to their track position.

“We worked really well together in just kind of tandem-style drafting,” explained Riggs. “We did some studying this week coming here to know we’re going to work together knowing we’re going to have similar trucks.”

While Riggs held on to fourth, Kaden Honeycutt battled Corey Heim for the win, ultimately ending in the runner-up position. The No. 11 closed the points gap to the No. 34, but Riggs’ rally kept the damage minimal.

“That’s all you’re thinking about is points,” said Riggs about that moment when the tire went flat. “Thinking about the opportunities you’re giving away. At the same time, you’re just trying to manage the damage and trying to minimize it all you can to still finish good at the end of the race.”

“I’m happy. The team did a good job. Obviously not a win, but with the wild-card race like this and everything that got thrown at us today, fourth place is very solid for us.”