As Layne Riggs and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team continue to attempt to claw their way into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs, the driver and team will be without their crew chief Dylan Cappello this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Front Row Motorsports confirmed to TobyChristie.com that Cappello is out due to personal reasons, and that the team expects him to return to action for the next NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday, June 28.
Mike Contarino will serve as the crew chief for Riggs this weekend in the Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in place of Cappello, who had served as the crew chief for the No. 38 truck all season prior to this weekend.
Contarino has four previous races on his record as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, which came in 2021, and he was a NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chief for five races that same season.
With five races remaining until the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs begin, Riggs is mired 18th in the championship standings, and he is 78 points behind the cutline, which is currently being held down by Ben Rhodes. Riggs will seemingly need a hail mary win if he hopes to make the Playoffs.
The now 21-year-old Riggs was the 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series National Champion at the age of 20. Riggs set the record for the youngest driver to ever accomplish that feat as he defeated Peyton Sellers by just four points.
While it’s been a trying season for Riggs, he did score his season’s best finish a couple of weekends ago at North Wilkesboro Speedway with a solid third-place effort.
