Thursday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway was just about over before it began for Layne Riggs.
The native of Bahama, North Carolina found himself facing the wrong direction on the first lap of the UNOH 250, after contact from Corey Day sent his No. 34 Ford F-150 spinning in Turn 3.
Suddenly, all of the amazing track position Riggs had earned through a solid qualifying effort disappeared, and the Front Row Motorsports driver had to make a charge through the pack.
“You don’t get two mulligans in the playoffs, and I got two, so I’m not sure what happened on the initial start with [Corey Day]. I felt like I was there pretty good, and the first lap of the race, to spin out, is a blow to your confidence,” Riggs said post-race.
So, that’s exactly what he did… by the end of the 65-lap opening stage, Riggs had driven himself from last-place on the grid to a ninth-place finish — earning himself precious stage points.
Then, all of a sudden, Riggs wasn’t just in the top-10, he was fighting to take over the race lead from Corey Heim. Even though he didn’t win the stage, he battled hard for it and solidified his position as a contender for the victory.
RACE RESULTS: 2025 UNOH 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway
A strong pit stop from his Front Row Motorsports crew got the No. 34 Ford F-150 out in front to start the third stage, and a restart at the beginning of the stage (which ended up being the final one of the race), further cemented his position at the front.
Corey Heim, after leading a race-high 122 laps, got trapped behind the No. 62 of Cole Butcher, making his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut. That kicked him back to seventh, and when the final stage of the race went green, the TRICON Garage driver had no time to catch back up.
“I think it just shows that we’re right there. We’re in contention. We can do it, and these guys right here don’t give up,” said Riggs. “I don’t give up. That’s three in a row at Bristol Motor Speedway for Front Row Motorsports, so it’s a big testament to all of these guys. We’ve got a really good package here, and I’m excited for New Hampshire. I’ve never even been there and I already love that racetrack.”
Riggs’ main challenger was Ben Rhodes, who got to within striking distance of Riggs, but could never complete the pass, having to settle for a runner-up finish.
Corey Heim, who dominated the early portion of the event, wasn’t able to climb back through the pack during that last run to compete for the victory and had to settle for third in the No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.
Defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ty Majeski placed fourth, with Daniel Hemric rounding out the top-five in the No. 19 Chevrolet for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
Tanner Gray earned a solid sixth-place finish on the evening, with Connor Mosack seventh, Andres Perez de Lara in eighth, Corey LaJoie in ninth, and veteran Matt Crafton rounding out the top-10.
Bayley Currey, driving the No. 45 Sparco Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports, was running inside the top-10 on the final lap of Thursday’s event before getting turned by Corey LaJoie, dropping him down the order to 19th.
Other NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs drivers that did not finish inside the top-10 on Thursday include Kaden Honeycutt in 12th, who faded after making contact with and spinning Tyler Ankrum on Lap 91, who ended up recovering to finish 20th.
Rajah Caruth started the evening inside the top-10, but faded to a 15th-place finish. Grant Enfinger also had a disappointing evening, finishing off the lead lap in 21st.
However, two playoff-eligible drivers had it especially rough on Thursday: Jake Garcia and Chandler Smith.
Garcia sat on the pole in his No. 13 Quanta Services Ford F-150, and had a strong enough truck to run up at the front of the pack, until a mechanical issue forced the ThorSport Racing team to go to the garage and fix the problem — which cost them 31 laps.
Chandler Smith had a similar issue in the early portions of the event, and after an early-race miscue at Darlington, suffered another dismal finish at Bristol, coming home 30th, 14 laps off the pace.
Leaving Bristol Motor Speedway, Garcia (-14) and Smith (-24) are the two drivers below the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs cutline heading to New Hampshire.
The next Truck Series event at New Hampshire will take place next weekend, September 17 at Noon ET on FS1, Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
